Tough Tomatoes
by metallicgirl42
Summary: Megatron is hunting down an Elite Guard spy signal when he comes across an Autobot sparkling called Tomato (because of his tomato-like paint job). Megatron captures Tomato with the intent of turning him into a sparkless Decepticon warrior. Full summary inside. Read review and enjoy!
1. Capture

**Hi everyone, it's metallicgirl42 (aka Blablabla234). This is my newest story. In this particular story, Megatron is out looking for an Autobot energy signal when he comes across an Elite Guard spy and his very young son, Tomato (named so because of his tomato-colored paint job). Megatron kills the spy on the spot and kidnaps Tomato, taking him back to the ship with plans to turn him into a cold-hearted Decepticon warrior. Megatron is at first disgusted with how the Autobots treat their sparklings—with oilcake (an Autobot candy), lack of discipline, new toys, no dangerous weapons—basically spoiling them rotten. He intends to raise Tomato with lots of discipline and hard training drills, even scanning him to turn into a gun instead of a mini-car and giving him a dangerous handgun for robot mode, and he is constantly irritated with Tomato's mischievous nature, tendency to goof off, and his belief that the whole war is just a game. But as Megatron becomes more attached to Tomato, he begins to think of the young 'bot as the son he never had and realizes that to become a good Decepticon, he needs support and encouragement too—and, most importantly, that he has a lot more to learn from Tomato than he ever would have thought!**

**P.S. Takes place on Cybertron, unlike **_**Decepticons Have More Fun**_**, which takes place right here on Earth.**

**TOUGH TOMATOES, CHAPTER ONE**

It was twilight as Megatron crept across the rugged terrain of Cybertron, alone, gun at the ready. He and the other Decepticons had picked up an Autobot energy signal near the area of the _Nemesis_, and since Megatron didn't know who this Autobot was or what he was up to, he figured he'd better stop any trouble before it started.

Of course, Megatron _was _always itching for a fight, especially with an Autobot, so maybe an impromptu battle (with Megatron as the victor, of course) wouldn't be so terrible, either.

As the Cybertronian evening grew darker, Megatron adjusted his optics to see clearly. After a few more cycles of quiet, with nothing to be seen, Megatron noticed two dark figures up ahead.

Autobots.

They didn't seem to be up to anything suspicious; it looked like they were just watching another night descend on their planet, but Megatron wasn't willing to take any chances. He did not immediately open fire; instead, he walked up behind them, withdrew one of his sharp titanium swords, and tapped the larger Autobot on the back. He turned around.

Megatron got a good look at the Autobot, who didn't appear to be particularly threatening. He was not big at all, especially compared to Megatron, but he wasn't small, either. About the average size for a fully grown Autobot (slightly smaller than a Decepticon size). His paint job was an odd sort of dark-red color, and he was holding both servos out, like this would stop Megatron from attacking if he wished.

Next to him was another, much smaller Autobot, blue optics gleaming in the dark, with the same dark-red shade. He turned around too, looking not scared but confused.

Megatron pointed his fusion cannon right at the larger Autobot's faceplates so that he was staring right down the barrel of the destructive weapon. He clutched the smaller Autobot close, looking terrified.

"Decepticon!" cried the Autobot, drawing his companion closer.

"That's Lord Megatron to you, Autobot," Megatron told him scathingly, and the Autobot's bright blue optics grew wide with pure terror as the thought finally reached his CPU—he was being attacked by a Decepticon! _Megatron_, no less!

To Megatron's surprise, the larger Autobot stood up and started running towards him. "Stay back, son!" he cried, as he shot a laser beam in Megatron's direction.

_Lasers_! _How dare he_! Megatron held up both his swords and growled, "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"

"I will sacrifice anything to protect my son!" yelled the Autobot, shooting another laser and punching Megatron as hard as he could.

"Then prepare to sacrifice _yourself_!" Megatron swiftly slashed his sword across the Autobot's chestplate, leaving a huge gash, raw energon leaking out of the open wound.

The Autobot was crippled, but not destroyed…yet! He attempted to deliver another punch to Megatron's body, but Megatron was easily able to knock the Autobot, in his weakened state, right onto the ground.

"I am growing tired of this little game," Megatron informed the Autobot coldly, the sword still pointed at his neck. "Leave this location immediately. We never had this conversation."

The Autobot was struggling to push the sharp sword away, even though Megatron was barely making an effort to stop him. _Such a weak Autobot_, he thought in disdain. _He is a spy for the Autobots_, _a scout_, _and yet he can hardly protect himself and his son from adversity_.

"Let me _go_!" the Autobot cried, wriggling. "I must report back to the Elite Guard. Now that I know the coordinates of your ship, we Autobots will win the war."

"My Decepticons and I will make sure that before this war is over, Cybertron will be under my command!" Megatron hollered. "But you, Elite Guard spy, will not live to see it!"

Megatron fired up the fusion cannon, holding the Autobot spy down with one foot. He was squealing as Megatron noticed that he _wasn_'_t _paying very close attention to his son, who was running around and screaming stupidly about oilcake.

"Oh, for Spark's sake, you can't even go offline with honor and dignity?" Megatron asked, disgusted yet again by this Autobot's weakness. They were all soft, cowardly, namby-pamby goodie-goodies! They _deserved _to go offline! Every single one of them! And besides, Megatron couldn't let a captured spy escape. If he repeated what he discovered, the Decepticons would be at a disadvantage. The only way to keep him quiet was to destroy him. It was as simple as that!

"_NO_!" the Autobot screamed, but it was the last word he ever spoke as he was instantaneously blasted into pieces by Megatron's fusion cannon. His son, startled by the sound of the gun, stopped his yammering and bounded over to Megatron and the now-offline Autobot.

"Wow…that's a pretty big gun you got there, mister," said the young 'bot, looking impressed. "You're so lucky. Nobody ever lets _me _play with guns."

"This is no toy," Megatron informed him. "I don't know about you Autobots, but we Decepticons use _real _weaponry, not toys."

"Autobots? Decepticons?" asked the sparkling, looking confused. "What are you talking about, mister?"

Megatron looked down at the small Autobot. He hardly even came up to Megatron's foot. He looked confused and very impressionable, as if he was too young to know anything of his world—not even what side he was on. In fact, he probably was either kept away from anything having to do with Decepticons, or he just couldn't tell the difference. Megatron guessed it was the latter.

This gave Megatron an excellent idea. He bent down next to the young 'bot, who was now staring into space like he wasn't right in the middle of a conversation, and asked him, "What's your name?"

"I like oilcake," he replied.

_Never trust sparklings_, _Megatron_, _never trust sparklings_, Megatron reminded himself, slapping his forehead exasperatedly.

"No, your _name_," Megatron repeated impatiently. "What do the other Autobots call you?"

"Tomato," the young 'bot told him happily. "They call me Tomato."

"_Tomato_?" Megatron asked, baffled. "Why?"

"Tomatoes are kind of an organic fuel that are neither fruits nor vegetables," Tomato informed Megatron matter-of-factly. "My dark-red paint job is exactly the same color as one! So, that's why they call me Tomato."

Tomato was just staring up at Megatron, a toothy grin on his innocent face. Yes, Megatron knew that if he played his cards right, Tomato could grow up to be a very talented Decepticon. One black hand reached out to grasp Tomato's hand, but he was so small in comparison to Megatron that his whole arm shattered.

"Oh…um…sorry about that," Megatron told Tomato, who was looking down at the ground with that confused look on his face, apparently wondering why his arm had just disintegrated. "I can easily order you a replacement arm."

"That's okay, mister!" Tomato replied brightly. "I like getting new stuff!"

"Quite," said Megatron, not knowing what else to say.

"I like getting oilcake, don't you?" Tomato added. "Want to go and get some?"

"What makes you think you deserve oilcake?" Megatron asked Tomato strictly.

"Well, where I live, they buy oilcake every day, and we're allowed to have as much as we want."

"That's where you _used _to live," Megatron corrected him. "Where we are going, life isn't just fun and games and oilcake."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, Autobots don't enforce the discipline needed to create an excellent trooper, or even a competent one," Megatron informed him. "You, however, will get the proper training you need."

"Proper training?" Tomato asked curiously.

"Do I have to explain everything to you, Tomato?" Megatron snapped impatiently. "You're going to reach your full potential, with me as your guide."

"Do I get to have a dangerous weapon like yours?" Tomato was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yes," Megatron replied. "But first, as soon as we get back to base, you will be rid of your Autobot qualities."

"This will be fun!" Tomato yelled, and started running around crazily again. Megatron whacked him on the head.

"Calm yourself down, soldier!" he ordered, shifting into helicopter mode. "Get in."

"What?" asked Tomato. "Get in the helicopter?"

"NOW!"

Tomato boarded Megatron's helicopter mode, and asked casually, "So, where are we going?"

"You," Megatron informed his new Decepticon-to-be, "are coming with me."


	2. Welcome to the Nemesis

Megatron led Tomato onto the _Nemesis_, both in robot mode now. Megatron was glaring at Tomato, who was exclaiming at everything he saw.

"Wow! It sure is dark in here!"

"Wow! I like your TV!"

"Wow! You have _dark energon_?"

"Wow! You have _cannons_?"

"Yes, of course we have cannons!" Megatron told him. "Honestly, there's nothing in here that's worth getting so worked up about."

"There is to me," Tomato insisted.

"What was your old home like?" Megatron asked. He had to admit, he was wondering how exactly Autobot sparklings were brought up.

"Well, I had oilcake every solar cycle, and everybody was always squeezing me and kissing me even when I didn't even do anything special, and I had lots of fun toys to play with, and—"

"What kind of toys?"

"Little things that squeaked and played music and stuff like that," Tomato replied, shrugging. "It was okay."

"Well, your oilcake will be replaced with dark energon, and your toys will be replaced with dangerous weapons," Megatron informed him. _Maybe Tomato will like a place that's so different from the Elite Guard ship_, he thought to himself. "All that kissing-and-hugging nonsense will be replaced by tough training drills."

"Ooh! Training drills?" Tomato shrieked excitedly. "I've heard some troopers talk about that, like the bombs that spray paint, and transform-ups and stuff? Yeah! Oh my gosh!"

_This young _'_bot is so naïve_, Megatron thought, slapping himself in the forehead again. _But I can take advantage of that_, _since that_'_s the plan_.

"Transform-ups are for 'bots who are so soft, you can pound them into oilcake without even trying," Megatron said back. "_You_ will learn to fight mercilessly while raw energon is pouring out of your tubes, emerging as the victor. Remember, surrender is _not _an option!"

Tomato's optics were so wide, they practically covered up his whole face.

"Coool," he whispered.

…

Megatron and Tomato arrived soon after to the main monitor room. The TV was still on (_Autobot Extreme Makeover _was playing), so Megatron walked over and shut it off—not only did he always hate the Autobot channels, but nobody was there. Starscream was _supposed _to be doing Monitor Duty, but to nobody's surprise he had shirked off…again.

_Note to self_: _Punish Starscream for insolence_. _AGAIN_.

"Wow! Monitor Duty!" Tomato walked over to the computers, communication systems, and other Monitor Duty supplies. "I've always wanted to do this!"

It seemed to Megatron that the kid had been so spoiled and coddled that he really didn't know anything. He thought the hardest things (like training) and the most boring things (like Monitor Duty) were actually _fun_, because he didn't have any experience with them—or anything else, for that matter. Well, except oilcake, maybe. He did seem to know quite a bit about oilcake.

"Well, it's not time for Monitor Duty yet," Megatron told Tomato. "We have other things to discuss right now."

"Okay!" Tomato sat down on the floor, back facing the TV, and Megatron sat down next to him.

"So, what's your vehicle mode?" asked Megatron.

"Mini-car," Tomato replied brightly. "I guess when I'm all grown up I'll turn into a big car or something like the grown-ups at home, or—"

"Tomato!" Megatron told him sharply. "THIS is your home now!"

"Whatever," said Tomato, shrugging. "Like I said, I'm too small to be a big car, and definitely not a truck, so now I'm just a nice compact car. Red, too!"

"Everyone knows your vehicle mode is tomato-red, Tomato," Megatron replied flatly. "So are you. Well, anyway, now that you're a future Decepticon warrior, you need to be something very different. Like…like…"

"Your gun!" Tomato cried happily, pointing at Megatron's fusion cannon.

"This? My fusion cannon?"

"That would be so awesome!" Tomato confirmed, grinning, optics squeezed tight.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," said Megatron pensively. Maybe he was being exposed to a Decepticon mindset already! "Are you sure you want it?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, then, hold still for once while I scan it," Megatron replied, removing the gigantic thing from his arm and getting ready to scan it to be Tomato's alternate mode. "Now remember, this thing is bigger than a mini-car, so it will make your robot mode increase slightly."

"That's great news," Tomato told him. "I've always hated being too small."

"Well, you were probably going to get bigger anyway when you grow up, Tomato," Megatron reminded him. "So…"

Megatron quickly scanned the gun for Tomato, making it his new "vehicle" mode. Being built as an Autobot, Tomato was by default smaller, but as he turned into the gun upon scanning, and then popped back into robot mode, he was still the size of a sparkling, but definitely not as small as before.

"AWESOME!" Tomato hollered, turning into cannon mode again and shooting a blast of ammunition across the room, shattering the wall separating the kitchen and the main monitor room and barely missing the TV.

"Watch it!" Megatron yelled. "I'm going to have to disable the gun unless you learn how to use it properly."

"Responsibly?"

"No, _properly_," repeated Megatron, grinning evilly. "Two different things."

"Umm…okay…" Tomato looked confused, but then turned into cannon mode again, and this time he didn't turn back until they heard voices down the hallway. It was Starscream's voice, and Crazy Blitzwing's laughter.

"So I took her back to my place and it was like, wham, pow, and she didn't even—!"

"Primus, Starscream, buy zee girl a drink first!" Random Blitzwing cackled, and then they both burst into hysterics.

"DO YOU MIND?!" hollered Megatron.

"Oh, hey, Lord Megatron, Blitzwing and I were planning to head out to Iacon tonight for some femme hunting," Starscream told Megatron. "We don't know when we'll be back, so—hey, who's the little red 'bot?"

"This is Tomato," Megatron informed them. "He's our newest Decepticon."

"Why does he have zee Autobot symbol?" asked Blitzwing.

"And why is his name Tomato?" added Starscream.

"He was an Autobot sparkling until I captured him," Megatron explained. "I'll brand him with the Decepticon insignia tomorrow. As for his name, he's a very dark red, the exact same color of tomatoes and there you have it…Autobot-turned-Decepticon Tomato."

"Hi, I'm Tomato!" Tomato introduced himself.

"Yes, we know," said Starscream, and Blitzwing walked over to shake the sparkling's hand. Tomato shook Blitzwing's hand enthusiastically, then let him walk back to Starscream.

"Umm…ok…" Starscream looked a little confused. "Whatever. Let's go, Blitzwing."

"I am zee best wingman," Blitzwing told them happily, just before Starscream pulled him out the air lock.

"Where's Iacon?" asked Tomato curiously.

"It's the capital city of our planet, Cybertron," Megatron explained. "Apparently Starscream and Blitzwing are heading out to one of the nightclubs there again to pick up some of those cute little compacts."

"Do you like nightclubs?" Tomato questioned.

"I guess, um, I don't really care," Megatron told him. "I'm more concerned with the war."

"The war?"

"Umm…yeah, the war between we Decepticons and…oh, forget it," Megatron grumbled, noticing that Tomato was already looking in another direction and staring into space again. "I'll explain it some other time. You don't have the attention span right now, do you?"

"I don't know." Tomato shrugged. "For…what?"

"For anything I say!" Megatron yelled, whacking Tomato's head again.

Tomato rubbed his head, then squinted, looking up at Megatron. "Hey, um…who _are _you, anyway?"

"I am your Lord Megatron, and will be addressed as no less," Megatron replied importantly. "I am the one who will train you, so that you will be worthy to become one of my Decepticons."

"Training drills, like you said?" asked Tomato. "Those will _definitely _be fun."

"They will challenge you beyond your limits, similar to the battlefield on which your skills will eventually be required."

"I'll be the best Decepticon warrior ever!" yelled Tomato, running around and around in circles crazily until he crashed into the TV.

Megatron shook his head and sighed exasperatedly. "We've got a long way to go."


	3. Morning With Tomato

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

It was daybreak. As soon as Megatron opened his optics, he saw something startling—so startling that he yelled with surprise and tumbled out of bed, right onto the floor.

There was Tomato, sitting on the bed. He had been staring into his new master's optics, waiting for him to wake up.

"It's morning!" Tomato cried happily, hopping off the bed and bounding over to Megatron, who was still lying on the floor. "Now we can _do _stuff again!"

"Tomato!" hollered Megatron, sitting up. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Well, it's a new solar cycle," Tomato informed him. "So it's time to wake up!"

"Umm…okay, I guess." Megatron lifted himself up off the floor and followed Tomato, who was already on his way out of Megatron's room. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To get some oilcake for breakfast!" Tomato replied. "To the kitchen…AWAY!"

Megatron groaned and headed to the kitchen, trailing after Tomato.

Pausing in front of the refrigerator for a moment, Tomato asked, "Um, you _do _have oilcake, right?"

"No, we don't," Megatron told him coldly. "But we have oil and dark energon. Knock yourself out."

"What's dark energon taste like?" asked Tomato. "I've never had any before…in fact, as far as I know, we didn't even have any on our ship."

"It tastes like regular energon, only stronger," Megatron said casually.

"Well, let's try some!" Tomato told him excitedly. "I'll have one glass, please."

Megatron shook his head as he began to fill two champagne glasses with dark energon (one for Tomato, one for himself). As he did so, he wondered if he really should give Tomato the Decepticon brand just yet. Maybe he wasn't so ready. Maybe he needed more training beforehand. Maybe he wouldn't even be able to tolerate his breakfast.

_Stupid kid_, Megatron thought, looking over at Tomato, who was looking back at him with that same innocent grin on his face. After thinking it over for a few cycles, Megatron decided that if Tomato was able to handle dark energon like a real mech, he would become the newest recruit this solar cycle. But if not, he would have to go through some more training first, before the Branding Ceremony would be allowed to occur.

Tomato looked excited as Megatron set the dark energon-filled champagne glass in front of him.

"Drink up," Megatron said, sitting down and drinking a big gulp from his own glass.

Without hesitation, Tomato held the champagne glass up to his face, then (just like Megatron) basically chugged it, apparently not realizing that, considering how much smaller he was, that it was probably better for him to drink it in little sips.

Tomato automatically swallowed the huge amount of dark energon he had put in his mouth, but as soon as he had, he began coughing violently and, falling out of his chair, collapsed on the rug.

"So, pretty good then, Tomato?" Megatron asked, smirking, as Tomato climbed back into the chair and struggled not to blow a gasket.

"That's…that's _dark_," Tomato mumbled, wiping his mouth off with his one servo.

"Oh, that reminds me," Megatron said, looking at the place where Tomato's still-missing arm used to be. "I have to order you a replacement arm soon."

Tomato coughed a little bit more, but then he sat up straight and stared at the wires poking out of his arm hole.

"Oh! Right! I forgot, too!" Tomato rubbed the socket, then winced with pain as his remaining servo brushed against the sensitive, damaged circuitry. "But how will we find another one?"

"There's a Decepticon hospital over in Iacon where we can get you one," Megatron replied. "You'll need both your arms for your training."

"I can't _wait _to go to Iacon," said Tomato happily. "Even if it _is _only to get a new arm."

"Speaking of Iacon…" Megatron sighed and looked around. "Do you know if Starscream and Blitzwing have returned from clubbing yet?"

"Who?" asked Tomato.

"The Decepticons you met last solar cycle," Megatron explained. "Have they returned home yet?"

"No idea." Tomato shrugged. "I hardly even _know _them."

"I haven't seen them all morning, either," Megatron told him. "So I don't know what they think they're—"

As if on cue, Megatron and Tomato heard the sound of the ship's air lock opening and closing, and footsteps on the metal floor.

"Hello, everyone!" Blitzwing's Random face screeched, darting into the kitchen, apparently _very _high on fizzy energon. "My, my, a crazier night I have not yet experienced!"

"Blitzwing was the life of the party, as usual," added Starscream, rolling his optics, as he followed his compatriot into the room. "But guess who scored?"

Holding onto Starscream's right arm was a rather naughty-looking Autobot femme. She was all different shades of green, with the exception of her shining gold arms and legs. She walked over to Megatron and brushed up against him, a little suggestively.

"So, this is the big scary Lord Megatron I've heard so much about," she said in her sultry voice.

Megatron growled and shoved her off. "What exactly did Starscream tell you?"

"Oh now, don't you worry, he feels basically the same way the Autobots feel about you, sweetie," the femme cooed, and Megatron heard Starscream laughing.

"DON'T CALL ME SWEETIE!" Megatron hollered. "Starscream, if you don't stop bringing these femme-bots home with you without asking for my permission, I swear I will—"

"It seems as though she likes you, my liege!" Blitzwing howled.

"Oh, no, I will stick with the one with the talent," the femme whispered, and walked back to Starscream.

"When's your next Monitor Duty shift, Starscream?" asked Megatron, knowing perfectly well that Starscream had bailed on him last solar cycle.

"Aw, scrap," Starscream said, slapping himself in the forehead. "Time to jet, honey."

The femme kissed Starscream goodbye, leaving a red lip-stain mark on his cheek, and left the spaceship. Starscream went to the refrigerator to pour himself some dark energon. Blitzwing, all this time, had been watching and screeching with crazed laughter.

"Ooh, she was zee hot one, eh, Starscream?" asked Blitzwing, taking another sip of fizzy energon.

"Where did Blitzwing get fizzy energon?" Megatron asked sternly. "You know I don't allow it. It always makes him crazy."

"Oh, he steals it from the club all the time," Starscream explained, shrugging.

Megatron glared at Blitzwing, who was drinking more fizzy energon, and snatched the bright-pink container away. "That's enough!"

"I'll tell you when I've had enough!" Blitzwing snapped, switching momentarily to Hothead mode, grabbing the container back, then turning back to Crazy.

Megatron growled again, then said, sharply, "Fine!"

"So…what did you guys _do _last night?" asked Tomato. Megatron, Starscream, and Blitzwing all looked over to him at the same time. His optics (which had turned from bright blue to red after being scanned to Megatron's fusion cannon) were about as big as saucers.

"Oh, you know, we had, um…nothing," Starscream told him.

Tomato's head was still turned sideways with intense curiosity. "Who was she?"

"It doesn't matter," said Megatron. "Starscream, get your aft to the main monitor room, you've got Monitor Duty today. Blitzwing, put that fizzy energon away immediately. Tomato, come with me, we're going to have to get your replacement arm."

…

Cybertron's sun was shining brightly by the time Megatron arrived with Tomato at the hospital. They stepped inside, and it seemed to be a very busy day. Megatron didn't mind that it was busy, because if the Decepticon leader wanted a replacement arm, then for Spark's sake, he was going to get it right now! Tomato, as usual, seemed to be lost in another world.

Megatron and Tomato waited in the reception area, Tomato swinging his remaining arm absentmindedly, Megatron tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk. After a cycle or two, a receptionist-bot walked in.

"Welcome to Iacon Decepticon Medical Care, how can I—oh, Megatron!" said the receptionist, looking shocked, then smiling quickly. "We'll get you to a medic right away."

"That would be nice, if you wouldn't dawdle any longer," Megatron told her coldly.

"You look fine to me, my Lord," the receptionist replied. "What seems to be the problem?"

Silently, Megatron pointed with his fusion cannon down at Tomato, who was hiding behind Megatron's foot.

"Oh, you poor little thing!" the receptionist cooed, bending down and pulling on Tomato's servo. "I never knew you had a son, Megatron! And he is _adorable_! Oh, are you missing your arm, little baby? Well, don't you worry none, we'll get a new one for you quicker than you can say—"

"_First_ of all," Megatron interrupted impatiently, "he's not my son, he's my trainee. And _second _of all, you don't need to gush over how cute he is. Just give him an arm so we can actually start the training already."

"We'll get him to a medic bot right away, my liege," the receptionist told Megatron quickly. "Can I have his name?"

"Tomato!" piped up Tomato.

The receptionist looked surprised at Tomato's odd name, but she wrote it down in her book anyway. After what felt like a whole megacycle of waiting, a blue-and-white medic bot walked into the room.

"Tomato?" he said.

"All right, Tomato," Megatron said, pushing Tomato off his seat without looking up from his magazine. "Go get your arm."

"You're not coming with me?" asked Tomato.

"Why would I be?" Megatron replied. "_I_'_m _not getting a new arm today."

Tomato shrugged and walked with the medic bot out of the room. Megatron focused on his magazine, still, but he was waiting for Tomato to come back to the waiting room. The magazine was at least six lunar cycles old, and besides, he already knew all the torture methods that were listed in it. It was boring.

"How long has it been?" Megatron snapped to the receptionist.

"I-I, um…oh, look, it's time for my lunch break!" the receptionist said hurriedly, running away from her desk. Megatron frowned and tried to keep reading, and finally, Tomato came back into the room.

"Thanks, medic!" he cried after him. "Look! Look, I got a new arm! See? See? It's dark-red, just like my old one! See? See? See?"

"Yes, I _see_, Tomato," Megatron said flatly.

"It didn't hurt at all, though," Tomato continued. "I thought it would hurt, but he shocked me with this laser thingy and—"

"You mean an EMP generator," Megatron explained. "Electro-Magnetic Pulse. It numbs pain. All medic bots have one."

"Cool," said Tomato. "Well, anyway, do you like my new arm?"

"Um…sure," Megatron told him, even though it didn't look any different from his old arm. "So let's go back to the ship. We have to start your training."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	4. The Sting of Training

**THAT EVENING…**

The first training course was all set up. Megatron had been working on it all solar cycle, with Shockwave babysitting Tomato inside. (Of course, he was the only team member Megatron _really_ trusted.) Finally, around the evening, Megatron came inside and found Shockwave and Starscream fighting over the remote, with Tomato sitting peacefully at the table, drinking oil out of a container with a straw.

"What are you guys doing?!" yelled Megatron. "You're supposed to be watching Tomato!"

"He's making me miss my show!" Shockwave and Starscream both yelled.

"They're good babysitters," said Tomato happily, slurping his oil.

"I was trying to watch _Decepticon Spies Weekly_," Shockwave said angrily. "And all Starscream wanted to watch was _Wind Beneath My Wings_. I saw you!"

"Liar!" Starscream said. "That show's for femmes and you know it!"

"Oh, so you just _happened _to come in to watch the Seeker channel at the time it's always on?" Shockwave asked snidely.

"Well, I think the pink one's kind of hot," Starscream mumbled, looking down, faceplates about the same color as Tomato's whole body.

"That's why he bought all that Super Seeker Miracle Cream," Shockwave told Megatron. "So he could be such a 'heartbreaker'."

"No, that was a chemical formula specifically designed to attract—oh, why am I even bothering to _talk_ to you glitch-heads?!" Starscream put his servos over his ears, stood up, and stomped out of the room.

"Starscream really waswatching _Wind Beneath My Wings_," said Shockwave. "I had to turn it off. He was getting a little teary."

"I WAS _NOT_!" they heard Starscream screech.

"He did look like he was really enjoying it, though," Tomato added. "I wasn't really paying attention to whatever it was."

"Turn on _Decepticon Spies Weekly_, Shockwave," said Megatron, and he walked over to Tomato, picked him up, then set him on the floor.

"Are we going to train now?" asked Tomato excitedly. "Huh? Are we? Are we? Huh? Are we?"

"Yes, but we won't have much time today," Megatron told Tomato, feeling confused. Tomato was acting even more hyper than usual. Then Megatron looked at what Tomato had _really _been drinking. And it wasn't oil, either.

"Fizzy energon?!" hollered Megatron. "Who gave you _this_?"

"Uncle Blitzwing," Tomato responded happily. "I love it!"

"Oh, for Spark's sake!" Megatron slapped himself in the forehead yet again. "No time to punish him now, though. We have to get to the training course now."

They walked outside, and there was Megatron's training course. There was a ditch with barbed wire, a climbing wall with sharp rocks, and a huge set of metal teeth that was chomping open and closed.

"These training sessions will become more intense as you advance," Megatron explained. "For now, though, you will complete this course. Once you complete it successfully, you will receive the Branding Ceremony."

"What's that?" asked Tomato curiously.

"It's where you say the Decepticon Oath and get branded with the Decepticon insignia," Megatron told him. "It can cause slight discomfort, but don't worry."

"It doesn't hurt," Tomato contradicted. "They put an Autobot sticker on me, and it didn't hurt at all! And when you took it off, it didn't hurt, either."

"Well, it's going to hurt this time, because I don't use stickers, I use a branding iron," Megatron told his trainee impatiently. "And it's not going to come off, because it's branded on."

Tomato shrugged. Megatron took his hand and led him to the ditch with the barbed wire.

Brimming with curiosity, Tomato curiously reached out and touched one of the sharp coils, then snatched his hand back in pain. "What do I do with this?"

"You have to crawl across it, even if you get damaged, climb over the wall, then escape the metal teeth without going offline. You probably won't be able to master it in one solar cycle, but you are expected to complete it eventually."

Tomato smiled and jumped into the ditch, attempting to crawl through it, and immediately getting tangled in the barbed wire. Caught relatively by surprise, he started screeching and waving his arms all around, eyes closed.

"Keep going!" Megatron told Tomato.

"I'm caught in the—_ouch_!" Tomato shrieked. As he continued to roll around, the coils started to draw raw energon.

"Untangle yourself, soldier!" Megatron called. "What kind of operation am I running here?"

"But I can't—_ouch_!—get out of this stuff!"

"If you keep squirming like that, you're only going to get more tangled!" Megatron told his trainee. He knew not to jump in and rescue Tomato just yet, because if he rescued him every time, he would never learn how to be a good warrior on his own.

"OW!" Tomato screeched. "OW! OW! OW!"

"GET OUT OF THE BARBED WIRE!" hollered Megatron. "_AND I MEAN IT_!"

Poor Tomato started crying then, so eventually, Megatron had to come in and pull him out. He was still bleeding so Megatron took him inside the ship.

"I'm ashamed of you, soldier," Megatron told Tomato strictly, even though Tomato was still just crying. "You got tangled in a little wire, and you start crying over _that_? What are you thinking?"

"It…it was kind of sharp," Tomato said, sniffing. "It gave me cuts."

"You were barely scratched!" Megatron hollered. "Your self-repair will take care of that within a few solar cycles!"

"But I don't like getting cuts," Tomato explained.

"You won't be able to defeat an enemy on the battlefield if you run off crying as soon as you get some damage," Megatron insisted. "Tomorrow we're going to work on this some more, and this time I want you to be ready."

"But what if my cuts haven't healed yet?"

"No more 'buts'!" Megatron told him. "You have to be strong, and tough. You have to be able to deflect any attack that comes your way."

…

Just before bedtime, Megatron was walking through the hallway to his bedroom when he heard voices down the hallway. He looked, and there was Blitzwing, holding some ice from his freeze ray, which he gave Tomato for his cuts from the wire. Starscream was carefully bandaging the wounds with medical tape.

"Don't let Megatron get to you," he was saying. "He damages me all the time."

"Well…he said he was going to turn me into a great warrior," said Tomato. "I don't feel like a great warrior if I couldn't get through the barbed wire."

"Zee barbed wire is sharp," Blitzwing told him. "He started you off on zee advanced level."

"Should I keep training?" asked Tomato.

"You could go back to the Autobots, but if you don't, well, Megatron gets kind of…angry when you don't obey him," Starscream replied. "He's damaged my wings so many times they've got multiple scars. If you think your cuts hurt…"

"Shut up and stop complaining," said Blitzwing. "Poor Tomato, he is just a sparkling."

"Thanks, guys," said Tomato, heading towards the door. "I guess I'll stay here for now."

Megatron caught Tomato as he appeared in the hallway. Tomato tried to run away but Megatron grabbed his arm. "Where are you going, Tomato?"

"To my room," said Tomato, looking down. "Sorry about the wire today. I didn't mean to be bad at it."

Megatron sighed and leaned down next to Tomato, remembering what he heard Starscream and Blitzwing saying. "Tomato, look…I know your training didn't go too well today, but you know why I'm doing this, right?"

"No," said Tomato, sounding almost like he was going to cry again. "Why?"

"I'm doing it for your own good," Megatron replied. "It's just like anything else. When you keep practicing and training, you'll improve. If you don't challenge yourself, you won't."

"But I don't think I'll be able to do the barbed wire tomorrow, either," protested Tomato. "Maybe I can never do it."

"You don't improve overnight, Tomato," Megatron told him. "It takes time…and hard work. Do you think you can at least _try _tomorrow?"

"Okay," said Tomato, and Megatron didn't exactly know why, but he was relieved when he saw that Tomato was smiling again.


	5. Face Down in the Dirt

**THE NEXT DAY…**

Megatron led Tomato out to the practice site again, bright and early. Tomato seemed more nervous than the last time, which Megatron thought was understandable, until Tomato started trying to pull his hand out from Megatron's and run back onto the ship.

"Don't be a coward!" Megatron commanded, whacking Tomato on the head. "Decepticons are not cowards."

"But I can't—" Tomato was saying, but Megatron interrupted him.

"Tomato!" he yelled. "If you go offline, you shall go offline with courage!"

"The barbed wire will make me go offline?" Tomato started crying again, even though Megatron hadn't meant that the barbed wire would kill Tomato. What he was referring to was if he died in a real battle with an Autobot.

"No, Tomato, the barbed wire is not going to make you go offline," Megatron told him. Then he sat down on the ground and motioned for Tomato to sit next to him. Tomato did so, but he turned away and crossed his arms.

"Look at your master when he's speaking to you," said Megatron.

"What?" asked Tomato.

"Listen…" Megatron took a deep breath. "What did the Autobots tell you about the war?"

"What war?" asked Tomato. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you lived with the Autobots, didn't you?"

Tomato nodded.

"For many, many years now, the Autobots and Decepticons have been fighting over who should control Cybertron," Megatron continued darkly. "The Autobots think of themselves as heroic and they think of us as savages. But they aren't all holding hands and singing in a circle all the time, either, are they?"

"Um…I don't think so," said Tomato.

"Well, they are persuasive," Megatron warned him. "But they can be savage too. And they claim they are fighting for the 'greater good', when really they are fighting because they think they're right and everybody else is wrong, just like anybody else."

"But…but can't we rule Cybertron together?" asked Tomato, and Megatron shook his head sadly. He had never heard someone ask such an innocent question before, but then again, he'd never trained sparklings before, either.

"They don't want to do that," he said. "Remember? They think they're the best. They don't want to cooperate with us. They want to destroy us."

"I bet you could destroy them," Tomato told Megatron sincerely.

Megatron laughed, because Tomato was probably right. Then he looked over at the barbed wire, and remembered why he had decided to explain the war to Tomato in the first place.

"Now do you understand why completing the training course is so important, Tomato?" asked Megatron. "If you want to be strong and ruthless like I am, if you want to destroy puny Autobots like I can, then you have to train. You're already a gun, now, remember?"

"I'm a Decepticon," said Tomato, standing up proudly. "I can defeat the Autobots, even if they harm me…with their barbed wire!"

Megatron watched as Tomato jumped into the barbed wire, and of course he got all tangled up again.

"Try NOT to get tangled up," said Megatron.

Tomato started pulling as hard as he could to get out of the sharp wires. Immediately they started to draw energon, but Tomato just winced and screamed, "You won't defeat me that easily, Autobots!"

Megatron was starting to laugh at Tomato's battle experience. He was wrestling with the barbed wire, and it was hard to tell if he was getting less tangled or more tangled. He tried to pull himself across the ditch, even though he wasn't halfway through it. He kept on saying things about how he would rule Cybertron, and how he would win the war, and about how all of the Autobots were scum.

"YAHHH!" screamed Tomato, pulling as hard as he could—and Megatron was surprised to see that he had actually untangled himself (sort of).

Megatron took out one of his swords and waved it around. "Go! Come on! Move it!"

Tomato's feet were still caught in the wire, but he moved his arms toward the middle of the ditch, ignoring his many cuts and bruises all the while. Finally, though, after about a megacycle, Megatron called "Time-Out".

"All right," he said, pulling Tomato's little feet out of the wire, and Tomato hoisted himself out of the ditch, only to fall back in again. Megatron lifted him out and set him on the ground.

Tomato was covered in cuts, bruises, and (especially) dirt, but he was smiling. "I did good, didn't I?"

Megatron frowned. "Well, not _good_, but at least you're improving. Now we have to work on something else."

"What?" asked Tomato. "Does it involve more barbed wire?"

"Um…no," said Megatron, then brandished his swords again. "You see these swords?"

"Wow!" Tomato cried happily, running up to Megatron. "Can I touch one?"

"They are very thick and as sharp as they come," Megatron told him. "I guess you can if you want to."

Tomato reached out and touched the needlelike tip of the sword. Luckily, he didn't poke it hard enough to give himself a puncture wound (like he needed more of them), but he did look rather amazed. "Wow…that _is _sharp."

"Anyway, take one of these," said Megatron, handing Tomato one of the swords—or, he attempted to, but the sword was bigger than Tomato, who stumbled backwards when it landed on him.

"Stand up, Tomato," Megatron ordered. "Lift the sword for practice."

Tomato tried to lift up Megatron's sword. It was almost comical to see little Tomato struggling to lift up a weapon that was at least twice his weight, like he was actually going to be able to do it. Megatron sighed. This was _supposed _to be the next practice, sword practice.

"Don't you want to have a sword like mine?" asked Megatron. He had been thinking that Tomato might like having a sword as one of his weapons, but he couldn't have one if he wasn't even able to lift it up.

"That would be—ahhh!" cried Tomato, as the sword knocked him over again.

As Tomato was extracting himself from underneath the sword, Megatron called Shockwave on his com. link. "Shockwave? Shockwave! Do you read me?"

"Yes, my Lord?" asked Shockwave, as soon as the line picked up.

"Please report to the outside of the ship to the location of Tomato's training course," Megatron told him. "We need your help."

"What did you want Shockwave for?" asked Tomato curiously, finally popping out from underneath the sword and standing up.

"You'll see," was all Megatron said.

After several cycles, Shockwave came out of the ship and headed over to them. He waved to Tomato, then bowed to Megatron. "What is it that you need, Lord Megatron?"

"We have to do a sword demonstration," Megatron explained. "I was going to do it with Tomato himself, but he's too small to lift the sword."

"I shall help," said Shockwave. "I assume you wish for me to be the Autobot, then?"

"Of course," said Megatron, and gave Shockwave the sword. He then slashed at Shockwave with the sword he was holding, but Shockwave quickly moved the sword _he _was holding to deflect the attack.

Megatron used his many sword-fighting techniques against Shockwave. Finally, Shockwave went down, and Megatron held his sword up high as the victor of the battle. "This battle belongs to the Decepticons!"

Shockwave stood up (he wasn't really damaged, obviously) and gave the sword back to his master. Megatron put both swords away and he and Shockwave turned to look at Tomato, who was watching, bug-eyed—he looked surprised at how good they both were.

"You guys are _awesome_," he said in admiration.

…

Tomato spent much of that solar cycle training, working on the barbed wire. He was working on not getting tangled, because he was learning that if he kept on getting caught in the wires, he would never be able to make it to the end of the ditch, much less make it to the end of the training course. Megatron wondered if Tomato could _ever _complete that.

When it finally began to get dark, Megatron looked down into the ditch. Tomato was crawling across the dirty ditch, trying to miss the wires as much as possible. Megatron snapped his fingers.

Tomato paused and looked up from his place in the ditch. His face was scratched and covered in dirt, as usual. "Huh?"

"It's time to come in," Megatron told him. "We can train more tomorrow."

"Okay," said Tomato, looking a little relieved. Trying not to slip on the mud, he reached his hands out and clawed the ground, and finally pulled himself out.

"Good job, soldier," Megatron said. "I didn't even need to pull you out that time."

Tomato looked happy and turned his head up. "Thanks, Daddy."

"What?" asked Megatron, taken completely by surprise.

"I said, 'thank you, Daddy'," Tomato replied, smiling again.

"Oh…um…" Megatron didn't know what to say for a minute, but then he took Tomato's little hand and led him back onto the ship. "You're welcome."


	6. One Step Closer Every Solar Cycle

"Come on, Tomato!" Megatron was hollering, as Tomato was continuing to struggle through the barbed wire. Every time he encountered another sharp string of wire, he tried as hard as he could to shove it aside, even as they scratched his hands. "There is no room in our ranks for those who fall behind!"

"We'll lick those monsters!" Tomato yelled, as he continued to get closer to the halfway point. As usual, the wires were sharp enough even to cut through his armor. They were thicker than the kind native to Earth, made of a very strong (and sharp) Cybertronian metal.

Fortunately, Tomato was getting better at battling—well, practice battling, anyway. For some reason, the Autobots hadn't attacked in a long time, but Megatron was still working on Tomato's skills. Over a time period of about two Earth weeks, Tomato had been practicing under the strict regime of Megatron's obstacle courses, sword fighting, and tough exercise sessions. Megatron was looking forward to one of Tomato's later challenges, the Hoop of Fire.

This particular solar cycle, Tomato was pretending that he was in a battle with an Autobot, to prepare him for when this really did happen.

"Escape if the wire catches onto your leg!" Megatron called.

Tomato reached his dark-red hand out, across the trench, and pulled himself free from a wire that had snagged his foot.

"If you're going to win this battle, you're going to have to do it an inch at a time, crawling through this dirty trench…" Megatron said. "Think you're mech enough to handle that, soldier?"

"YES!" Tomato cried. Soon after, a spike of barbed wire poked his arm; raw energon began to spray out of the wound, but he kept on going. "I CAN HANDLE IT!"

"Then let's see you do it!" Megatron hollered, waving his fist back and forth. "Who'll go home crying to their motherboards?!"

"AUTOBOTS!"

"And who will the battle belong to?!"

"DECEPTICONS!"

Megatron smiled a little evilly. The training was working.

…

Several solar cycles later, Megatron and Tomato were doing combat training. Tomato kneeled on the ground in front of Megatron so that Tomato was looking straight at the gun; Megatron had his "I'm going to kill you" look on his face. Megatron (no matter what) refused to be the Autobot in scrimmages, so this time Tomato had to be the Autobot.

"It's just you and me now, Decepticon scum," said Tomato, as menacingly as he could. He was still pretty small, so when he said this in his high-pitched little voice, Megatron had to fight to keep from laughing at him.

"You'll never win, weak Autobot," Megatron said back. One thing he was hoping for was that Tomato would start copying his "scary voice" (consciously or subconsciously), which would make him a much more threatening Decepticon. Of course, he didn't want the Autobots to think, _Hey_, _this kid is weak_, _we can take care of him easily_. Tomato should be fearsome.

Tomato stood up and punched Megatron's foot, to which his servo was smarting. Megatron was bigger than most fully-grown Decepticons, and most Decepticons, built for war, were slightly bigger than most Autobots, although there _were _exceptions (Omega Supreme springs to mind). So it went without saying that Tomato, an Autobot sparkling, wouldn't exactly be tall compared to his Lord Megatron.

Megatron was trying to teach Tomato how to use his body as a weapon anyway, to knock out an enemy using just his fists. It was obvious that Tomato, also, wanted to be able to kick the scrap out of people, so he tried to pay attention every time.

Tomato's appendages got bashed up every time he tried to use Megatron's foot as a martial arts-like punching bag, so eventually Megatron brought out a punching bag just for Tomato, only about a little bigger than he was and not made of tough Cybertronian metal.

…

Every so often, Tomato and Megatron would attempt to practice sword fighting, although it never worked—Tomato was just too small to handle a big sword, and Megatron was too good a swordsman. Finally, though, the Decepticons were relaxing right after lunchtime when they heard someone knocking at the door of the ship.

"Who is it?" Megatron called.

"Swindle," the voice replied. "I have the weapon you ordered."

Megatron got up from the couch and opened the air lock, where Swindle was standing with a small box in his servos.

"You ordered a weapon, Lord Megatron?" asked Tomato, as his Master led Swindle into the room.

"Yes," said Swindle, opening the box. Inside was a razor-sharp, curved sword. It was made completely of the strongest steel, and it looked positively lethal. Megatron took out the weapon and grinned. (Megatron really liked dangerous weapons.)

"I thought you already had swords." Tomato sounded confused again.

"Yes, I do," Megatron replied, walking over to Tomato. "That's why this sword is for you, not me."

Megatron handed the sword to Tomato, who managed to take it but was in complete shock, staring down at the sword, then up at Megatron, then down at the sword again. He could barely sputter a word of thanks. The sword, this time, was just the right size for Tomato, something that he could actually hold and practice sword fighting with. It would be useful if he ever got himself into battle.

Finally, after a quite long moment of silence, they heard Blitzwing say, "Did you ever see such big optics!"

Everyone started laughing (except Tomato), then Swindle added, "What do you say, Tomato?"

"Thank you!" Tomato cried. "This is the greatest thing any 'bot has ever done for me!"

"Every Decepticon needs a weapon," Megatron told his cadet, sitting down on the couch next to him. "And this steel sword shall be your first."

"Wow, it seems like every solar cycle I become one step closer to being a real Decepticon," said Tomato, running one finger down the blade of the sword.

"Technically, you aren't a true Decepticon until I give you your Branding Ceremony, you know," Megatron reminded him matter-of-factly as he looked over at Tomato. There was a sudden nervous look on the young 'bot's face.

"Don't worry," Shockwave told him. "It hurts a lot, of course, but we all get through it. The honor and glory make it all worthwhile."

"I was branded _twice_, on the most sensitive part of my body, and I'm still here," Starscream said. Everyone paused again, then he added irritably, "You do know I was talking about my _wings_, right?"

Swindle laughed, then coughed and held his palm out.

"Yes, yes," Megatron grumbled, getting up from the couch again and handing Swindle his credit card. Swindle charged the price of the sword onto the credit card, then handed it back to Megatron.

"Thanks for the sword," Tomato said again. "I can defeat any Autobot with this!"

…

The other 'Cons, too, slightly less threatening, mostly agreed to help Tomato with his training—they thought it would be good to have another warrior on their team, anyway. They tried to train him in their respective areas.

Lugnut just did whatever Megatron told him to do. Starscream was hoping that Tomato would shift his alliance to "where it belonged" (him), but he did also manage to teach him about flying in robot mode, as all Decepticons could. (This didn't work out so well in Tomato's alt. mode, a cannon.) Shockwave taught him how to deal with classified information (basically, how to keep it from landing in the wrong servos), and Blitzwing, of course, taught him how to dance. (Megatron suspected that Blitzwing was giving him fizzy energon, too, but he couldn't tell for sure.)

Fizzy energon actually seemed to be Tomato's favorite drink, now. Decepticons had no oilcake, and there had been no fizzy energon on the Elite Guard ship where Tomato was born, but Tomato (since he had been so young upon his capture) was beginning to think of the _Nemesis _as his real home, and he liked fizzy energon better than oilcake, and he liked the other Decepticons more than most of his old Autobot companions, and as he got stronger, he found his training becoming just a little bit easier with every solar cycle.


	7. Tangled in the Face of Battle

The day finally came when Tomato was able to cross the trench filled with barbed wire. He'd been practicing for a long time, and it had taken forever, but finally, panting with exhaustion, Tomato lifted himself out on the other end of the trench. His face was covered in dirt, his body covered in scratches, but he was online—and happy.

"Good job," said Megatron, reaching out his hand. Tomato took it and allowed Megatron to pull him up and away from the barbed-wire trench. "You're ready to finish the rest of the obstacle course now, so I'll show you the new one I've been working on."

Megatron led his young cadet over to an obstacle course he had set up. Tomato looked pretty surprised when he saw it. There was a spider web-like string of ropes for him to crawl across; a rotating spiked platform, suspended over a pit of bubbling dark energon; a fighting drone; the metal teeth jump; and of course the Hoop of Fire. There were no flames yet, obviously; the Hoop of Fire was only going to be lit when Tomato was trying to beat it.

"This is the Ultimate Decepticon Test of Mettle and Endurance," Megatron said casually, as if he _wasn_'_t _talking about a difficult and possibly deadly obstacle course. "You are allowed exactly one megacycle to complete each challenge, but you are expected to complete each challenge before you receive the honor of the Branding Ceremony."

Tomato walked over to the Hoop of Fire. "This looks…pretty dangerous."

"That's because it is dangerous," said Megatron, joining Tomato at the Hoop of Fire.

"What if I don't make it to the end of this course?" asked Tomato, sounding a little scared. "What if I don't even make it past the first challenge?"

"That's what battle is all about," Megatron replied, and walked over to the first challenge, the Ropes. For a moment, he found himself wondering whether or not Tomato was going to be able to finish the Obstacle Course; then he remembered how his cadet had worked hard enough to make it across the barbed wire, something he never thought he would be able to do.

"Okay…" Tomato edged closer to the entwined ropes.

"The object of the Ropes is to crawl across them to the next challenge, the Dark Energon Challenge," Megatron explained. "As you can undoubtedly see, they are filled with snags and snares at every turn. There is only one way to get past them, and you have to figure out what it is."

Tomato stepped onto the ropes. Immediately, a coil of rope snapped up out of nowhere, squeezing tight around his ankle. Tomato struggled to pull his foot out of the tight knot; he was feeling the energon supply to his foot begin to get cut off, the rope was tied so tight.

"Lord Megatron!" cried Tomato, still struggling. "Help!"

"The more you struggle, the tighter they squeeze!" Megatron said back.

Tomato loosened his foot, misinterpreting Megatron's instructions. The rope hung there, but he couldn't get out.

_SNAP_!

Another coil sprang up, tying itself tightly around Tomato's neck. Tomato pulled at it, trying to free himself from the deathly rope, but it was ruthless.

"H-Help!" Tomato coughed.

"There's only one way to get past the Ropes!" Megatron repeated, hoping Tomato would discover the secret, but he didn't seem to have discovered it yet. The rope was squeezing so tight, and Tomato was coughing and pulling at his neck, until he stopped moving. His systems seemed to be shutting down, his optics closed, his servos dropping from the rope and down to his sides, hanging limply.

Megatron knew better than to come to Tomato's rescue every time the young 'bot encountered trouble, but this time Tomato needed someone to rescue him, or he was going to choke to death. Knowing the secret to defeating the Ropes, Megatron quickly made his way over to Tomato without incident. He removed the rope from Tomato's neck and got him back inside the ship.

Tomato was unconscious but Megatron set him down on the couch. _Poor Tomato_, he was thinking. The little Decepticon-to-be had worked so hard to complete the barbed wires and now the Ropes, and he had almost been strangled on his first try.

Megatron put one servo on Tomato's forehead and sighed, just as Shockwave walked into the room. "What happened to Tomato, my liege?"

"We were working on his obstacle course and a rope choked him," Megatron explained. "Since his systems began to shut down, I had to take him inside to recharge a bit."

"He hasn't yet discovered the skill needed for the Ropes?" asked Shockwave.

"Don't worry," said Megatron. "He will."

…

Tomato was continuing his practice with the Ropes, but was doing other things as well—he was training in martial arts and swordsmanship, which he said he wanted to be as good as his commander's. So, later one solar cycle, Megatron led Tomato outside by the obstacle course and took out one of his titanium swords.

"You haven't got a clue how to sword-fight, Tomato," Megatron said, gripping his own sword.

Tomato grinned and whipped out his steel sword. "Try me!"

As quick as he could, Tomato struck with the sword; Megatron deflected it.

"Assess the situation! Engage with care!" Megatron yelled, while Tomato flashed his sword back. "Have a strong defense!"

Megatron held the sword up high, appearing to swing the sword down. Tomato should have known he wasn't actually going to get hit, but he flinched anyway, sticking out the sword above his head.

"What do you think you're doing?" Megatron asked Tomato angrily.

"I-I don't know," Tomato said back.

"Courage is just as important in a sword fight as is a sword," Megatron told Tomato. "If you hide in fear, your opponent will gain the advantage, you know."

Tomato stood up and saluted. "Understood, my liege."

"Okay, then, I'm the Decepticon, you're the Autobot, and I challenged you to a battle," said Megatron. "You know what to do next."

"Come get some!" Tomato yelled, and Megatron struck the sword down. Remembering how one slash of the sword could kill someone, Megatron had to remind himself not to kill Tomato when he was sword fighting. They continued to sword fight, and even though Tomato was a novice, he was improving.

…

Tomato was working on the Ropes, but he ended up getting snagged every time—he'd been ensnared by his neck (again, although this time not tight enough to choke), both arms, and both legs. The ropes squeezed so tight, he was covered in bruises.

Megatron could see that Tomato was getting frustrated with the Ropes challenge. It wasn't good, frustration. If Tomato didn't want to train any more, it wasn't going to end up pretty.

Tomato crawled across the spider web of ropes yet again, when suddenly a rope, flashing up quickly, snatched his whole arm. The rope pulled Tomato down, and he sat up, his whole arm still tied up with the string.

"Give me my arm back!" Tomato yelled, trying to pull his arm away, but (as usual) the rope just tightened itself.

"It's not going to let go, you know!" Megatron called.

"That's _it_!" Tomato cried out, as he tried and failed to stand up. "I'm finished! I quit!"

"You're not going back on me like that now, soldier!" Megatron insisted. "You've come too far!"

"Oh, shut up!" said Tomato angrily.

"DON'T YOU ADDRESS YOUR SUPERIOR LIKE THAT!" Megatron hollered. Probably, if Tomato hadn't been in the Ropes already, Megatron would have wanted to strangle him. "GET YOUR STUPID RED AFT OUT OF THE ROPES, _NOW_!"

"Can't you see I'm _never_ going to get out?!" screamed Tomato, whipping out his sword in fury and slashing as hard as he could at his trapped arm. The rope snapped.

Megatron smiled. "That's the way, Tomato."

"What the…did I just…?" Tomato stared down at the sword. "Is…is that the secret, Lord Megatron?"

"Use your weapon, and you will defeat the enemy," Megatron replied. "The weapon was Tomato's sword, and the enemy was the Ropes. Are you still going to get tangled in those coils now?"

"NO WAY!" Tomato told him, stepping forward again. His leg got caught, but he tentatively used his sword again—the rope was defeated. Tomato kept walking on, but Megatron knew that maybe soon, if Tomato kept on going, the Ropes would be defeated, too.

"Don't give up now!" Megatron said back, as Tomato, with a more determined look on his face than Megatron had ever seen, continued to brave the Ropes, slashing through them mercilessly with his sword. _This was a good idea for sword practice_, he thought.

Tomato's megacycle allowance of time was quickly running out—only ten cycles left, and Tomato wasn't yet at the end—close, but no cigar. Megatron informed him of this, and he slashed at the ropes even harder. Finally, just as the last minute was drawing to a close, Tomato gasped with exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground right next to the Dark Energon challenge.

"Good job, soldier," said Megatron, walking over to him. "You figured it out this time."

"I did!" Tomato stood up and grinned. "Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought."


	8. Obstacle Course

Now that the Ropes were finished, Tomato had one more megacycle to complete the next challenge, the Dark Energon challenge. Megatron and Tomato were standing by the pit of dark energon, watching the spiked rotating platform spin around. It was more dark energon than Tomato had ever seen in one place.

"You only get one chance on _this_ challenge, Tomato," Megatron reminded him. "You will climb over the platform to get to the other side of the pit, or you will fall off and go offline in the process."

"Oh, dear Primus," said Tomato quietly.

"Go," Megatron told him.

Tomato jumped slowly onto the platform, and he swung his arms wildly for balance as the thing spun him around and around. When he stepped forward to get a better grip, he set his foot down on one of the sharp spikes. Instinctively, he jerked his foot away, and almost toppled off the platform.

"Keep your concentration!" called Megatron.

"Don't worry, I—oh no!" cried Tomato, as the platform shifted again. He leaned over and grabbed the edge, getting puncture wounds on his servos from the spikes. "Ouch!"

The dark energon didn't smell very good, and Tomato was struggling to make his way across the long platform. It swung wildly to the left; Tomato almost flipped over onto his head, but he got up and starting crawling across, looking straight across and not down at the energon. It was about forty-five cycles before Tomato finally jumped off the platform and onto the ground in front of the fighting drone.

"You've succeeded, Tomato." Megatron walked over to his cadet.

"If it would please you for me to ask, my Lord, what is the purpose of the fighting drone?" asked Tomato. (Megatron noticed he was taking to talking like the other Decepticons—with respect and discipline. However, he wasn't so sure Tomato was actually aware of it.)

"The purpose of the fighting drone is for you to demonstrate your martial arts skills," explained Megatron. "You won't always have your sword with you in battle, necessarily. Be like me—if I punch an Autobot, he's out like a light. You must be the same."

"You're at least twice the size of most Autobots, so it's easier for you to do that," Tomato said, sounding confused.

"Well…true," Megatron agreed. "That's part of it, but to defeat an enemy using your body and no weapons, you need to have skill, intelligence and strength, too. After all, my lieutenant Lugnut is even huger than I am, and he isn't the leader, now is he? Not even second in command."

"I thought Starscream was your second," said Tomato. "That's what I heard."

"He was," Megatron corrected him. "Then I found out that he's not entirely loyal. But I trust Shockwave completely. And besides, he's a spy and an intelligence officer on both sides. So I decided he should be my second-in-command."

"Lugnut _wants _to be second-in-command, I bet," Tomato told Megatron. "He worships you so much that it's a little scary."

"Yes, it's very irritating," Megatron replied. "Anyway, though, let's see what you can do with the fighting drone."

Tomato stepped onto the platform where there was the fighting drone. (As he did so, he looked grateful that this platform wasn't rotating or covered in spikes.) Finally, he approached the fighting drone, walking slowly but confidently. The fighting drone was about his size and build, but not self-aware. Its purpose was to guard the way to the next obstacle (the metal teeth).

"Take this, drone!" yelled Tomato, kicking his drone in the face. The drone punched him, putting a dent in his face. Tomato had never taken a punch right in the face before, so he stood there for a bit, holding his face.

"Come on, it's just a drone!" Megatron told Tomato.

"It dented my _face_!" Tomato said back.

"I've been dented in the face before!" Megatron replied. "And I fought back! So you must do the same. Come on, you've made it this far."

"Okay, okay," Tomato muttered, and took his servos off his faceplates. They _were _dented, but he seemed to be ignoring it, because he punched his fighting drone _back _in the face and kicked it again.

"Get mean! Get angry!" Megatron was hollering. "And get out there and _kill that fighting drone_!"

Megatron was trying to be encouraging…in his own sort of way. Tomato and the drone battled, with Tomato using the best moves Megatron had taught him. Tomato, looking fierce, punched the drone right in its CPU, then at its spark chamber. It fizzled and went down.

"Yes!" said Tomato.

"All right then," said Megatron, as Tomato was stepping off the platform where the defeated fighting drone lay. "We can do the Metal Teeth Jump challenge and the Hoop of Fire challenge next solar cycle. For now, we need to work on another scrimmage."

Megatron and Tomato assumed their familiar positions as Decepticon and Autobot, prepared to fight another battle to the death.

…

That next solar cycle, Megatron and Tomato headed out bright and early to where the metal teeth were waiting to be defeated. They were chomping away and Tomato looked like he regretted coming outside this solar cycle in the first place.

"Now, now, Tomato," Megatron said, gripping Tomato's shoulder as Tomato stood in front of him. "Don't be afraid of this."

"I-I'm not afraid," Tomato said back, even though he clearly was.

Megatron walked over to the metal teeth and gestured for Tomato to follow him. Tomato did so, and Megatron pointed to a long pole that was lying by the metal teeth. "You see this?"

Tomato nodded. "I see it, my liege."

"You have to use this pole to jump over the teeth and land in front of the Hoop of Fire," Megatron explained. "It's similar to a pole vault, only much more dangerous."

Tomato picked up the pole and stood with it as he looked up at the chomping metal teeth. They looked sharp and Tomato knew if he landed in their "mouth", then he would be breakfast for this challenge. It was the second-to-last challenge on the obstacle course, though, and Megatron was hoping Tomato had enough strength and determination to beat it. Those were the most important things to have on any challenge—strength to complete it, and the determination to never give up, even if it took all solar cycle.

_BAM_! _BAM_! _BAM_! The noise of the chomping was so loud. Tomato stood back for room, ran closer to his target (the other side of the metal teeth), and sprang up. Unfortunately, the jump didn't exactly work out right, and Tomato found his face slamming right into the metal base of the teeth. He moaned with pain and landed on the ground, dropping the pole. Megatron picked him up and led him over to the sidelines.

"Just sit there while I show you," Megatron said. "Now pay attention."

Megatron set up the pole vault and jumped effortlessly across the metal teeth. When he landed on the other side of the teeth, right in front of the Hoop of Fire, he walked over to Tomato again. Tomato was clapping.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"Lots of practice." Megatron shrugged. "If you practice a little too, you'll be able to use the pole to jump over the metal teeth without them hurting you. Now why don't you try again?"

"Umm…o-okay," Tomato said, standing up and taking the pole from Megatron's servo. Trying to imitate what he had just seen, this time he jumped better, but it still didn't work out quite right, because instead of landing on the other side of the teeth, he landed on the edge of one of the jaws, clinging onto the spiky teeth with only one servo.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	9. Tomato's Courage

**Dear Readers: Hi, it's me again. I'm sorry Chapter Nine took a little bit longer, but I had a really big term paper due for my summer school over the weekend. (I didn't fail a class or anything, if you're wondering. It's just for extra credit.) Chapter Nine (Tomato's Courage) is up now, though, as you can see, so read, review, and, most importantly, enjoy!**

"Oh, scrap," Megatron muttered as he watched Tomato hanging from his precarious perch.

"Help!" cried Tomato. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on! I'm going to fall into the teeth!"

"No you're not, soldier!" Megatron told him. "Didn't Starscream teach you how to fly in your robot mode?"

"Yes, he did, but I'm not good enough at it!" Tomato sounded even more scared now. "Besides, I'm scared of heights!"

_Scared of heights_! Megatron slapped himself in the forehead again and said back, "Tomato, the last challenge of this obstacle course is to test your flying skills when you fly through the Hoop of Fire! Besides, surely you know that all Decepticons must take to the air."

"No, I don't know that, I _don_'_t _know that!" Tomato screamed, as his grip on the gigantic set of chomping metal teeth continued to weaken.

"All right, all right," Megatron said, just as Tomato could hold on no longer—Tomato was going to fall in right that moment, but Megatron flew in and snatched him away at the last second.

Tomato was screaming until he and Megatron landed firmly on the ground. He collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting. Megatron thought Tomato had been about to experience a full-blown panic attack.

"Oh, I kiss the sweet ground," Tomato whispered. He didn't stand up.

"Tomorrow I'll have Starscream, the Decepticon Aerial Commander, help you get over your fear of heights and learn to fly, Tomato," Megatron told his cadet firmly.

"Will it involve flying through that terrifying Hoop of Fire?" Tomato asked his leader, sounding petrified at the thought.

"If you get past the metal teeth, then yes," Megatron replied. "And until you fly through the Hoop of Fire, you can't become a true Decepticon."

"I really want to become a true Decepticon," Tomato said, wistfully staring at the huge Decepticon insignia on Megatron's chest.

"And you can," Megatron told him. "You just have to face your fears instead of running and dodging them. As long as you work hard enough, and become tough enough, I don't see any reason as to why your transition from cadet to true Decepticon can't go smoothly."

"You really think so?" Tomato asked, looking down at the ground.

"Of course," Megatron said, and they both went inside, for they wanted to be ready for the big training session tomorrow.

…

The next morning, bright and early, Tomato and Megatron walked to the obstacle course, with Starscream following close behind. Tomato was obviously deathly afraid—Megatron could tell, especially because he now knew that Tomato was scared of heights.

Of course, Megatron knew that Tomato could very well be afraid of heights because he had been born an Autobot—the two sides didn't just have different views and values, they had completely different programming. And part of that programming (with a few exceptions, of course) was that Autobots don't fly.

All Decepticons, on the other hand, must take to the air. Megatron was convinced that even though Tomato had Autobot programming in him, he could still learn to fly, with proper instruction. After all, who better to teach him than both the Decepticon leader _and _the Aerial Commander?

The three of them approached the teeth. _BAM_, _BAM_, _BAM_! To Tomato, it seemed, the teeth were more vicious this solar cycle than they had ever been before. Even though Megatron and Starscream were both closely watching him, Tomato didn't take one step closer to the teeth.

"C'mon, it's easy!" said Starscream happily. He flew right over the metal teeth, then flew right back to where Tomato and Megatron were standing.

Tomato might have been about to do it, with a little prodding, but just then, all three of them heard an angry voice.

"Decepticons! Surrender on the spot, and there will be no trouble!"

It was Optimus Prime and his team. Megatron fueled up his cannon and Starscream prepared to fire his null rays. Tomato didn't take out his sword—this was his first battle, so he probably didn't have any idea what to do.

"Surrender is _not _an option!" Megatron yelled as he ran towards Optimus, aiming the gun towards his Autobot target. Optimus whipped out his axe, while all his other Autobots readied all _their _weapons, too. Megatron was glad he'd thought to order Tomato a sword in advance, although he still didn't seem to be using it.

In fact, Tomato didn't seem to be helping out Megatron and Starscream at the moment—he was just staring there, optics wide, frozen where he was standing. Megatron took out one of _his _swords and started to deflect the slashes of Optimus's axe, but he also couldn't stop staring at Tomato. Tomato, who was supposed to be a fearsome warrior, was just standing there in the middle of a battle, being completely useless—and an easy target, too.

Megatron remembered Tomato, slicing the Ropes apart in the first challenge of his Obstacle Course. Why couldn't he remember that now? Why wasn't he being brave in battle? Why did Megatron have to do _everything_?

"Tomato!" yelled Megatron. "Give us some backup, will you?"

"I-I don't know what to do!" Tomato cried. "This is a _real _battle, not practice!"

"This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Megatron told him. "Use your sword! You can't just stand there and let your enemy kill you! What did I teach you about sword fighting? About running fast and being brave and defeating enemies and using your fists? You can't just forget about all that!"

"Right." Tomato slowly took his sword out and ran one hand down the edge of the blade. "I can't."

As Megatron continued battling Optimus, he looked behind at Tomato. His cadet was now holding the sword, but he wasn't attacking anyone. He was looking around the place, maybe trying to find somebody to attack. After all, the Autobots here were all bigger than he was, even the little yellow one who shot electricity.

Starscream fired at the second-in-command, Ratchet. They got engaged in a battle too, and Tomato looked over at Megatron as shots from both sides fired in front of his face.

"_Do _something!" Megatron told Tomato. "I command you!"

Tomato stood up and gave Megatron his four-fingered salute, donning that look of strong determination he'd acquired during his training not so long ago. Before Megatron knew it, Tomato was rushing towards one of the bigger Autobots, one with a huge chin, a sword, and a shield.

"Come get some!" Tomato yelled as he ran closer. The big-chinned Autobot looked down and noticed the little red figure running near to him. Tomato was bigger now than when Megatron had first started training him, it was true, but he wasn't all grown up just yet.

"Sentinel!" Optimus called to his teammate. "Decepticon sighting!"

"Quiet, Optimus!" Sentinel Prime said back. "I was sent by the Elite Guard to watch over you, remember? So that means that I make the orders here, not you."

"We're a team, Sentinel!" Optimus told him. "During battle, we _all _make the decisions!"

"Oh, yeah?" Sentinel challenged. "I thought the _leader _makes the decisions! What are you, weak? Why should we listen to you?"

"That's the difference between you and me, Sentinel!" Optimus said back. "I'm a team player. That's why this Autobot insignia sticker is still on my chestplate, whether I'm a dropout or not. In fact, like it or not, Ultra Magnus probably wishes he had me by his side instead of you."

"Why, you—!" Sentinel growled.

Megatron was staring. What was going on _now_? Weren't they supposed to be in the heat of battle? Optimus and Sentinel were fighting, so Optimus wasn't even battling Megatron any more. He was focusing on battling one of his teammates instead.

"You don't know scrap, Optimus!" Sentinel continued, pointing his sword at his fellow Autobot. "It doesn't matter if you're a team player! You're still a dropout, and that's what matters! I'm never going to—OW!"

Tomato might have been small, but he seemed to be using that to his advantage. Since Tomato was smaller, he had greater agility and could run faster than someone who was all big and clunky. Tomato slashed continuously at Sentinel's shin with his sword, not inflicting any major damage but definitely enough damage to cause pain—and draw raw energon.

"OW!" Sentinel hollered. "OW! OW! OW!"

"Try and catch me, foolish Autobot!" said Tomato, slashing at Sentinel's leg again.

Sentinel looked down at Tomato, who was looking up at him with a dastardly little smirk on his face. "Why, you slimy little red Decepticon, I'll _get _you!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Tomato told him, darting away.

"Get back here!" Sentinel said, chasing after Tomato. Tomato was running straight towards the sides of the chomping metal teeth—pure, sharp, rock-hard, Cybertronian metal. Why was Tomato running toward _those _things?

Tomato slashed Sentinel's leg again, then ran faster and faster to the sharp edge of the chomping teeth. They were both going very fast. Then, just as soon as they were going to hit the teeth, Tomato quickly dodged out of the way, while Sentinel, not expecting this, kept on running. He was going at such a speed that, since he'd gained a ton of velocity, he slammed pretty hard into the metal side of the teeth—and right in the CPU, too.

"W-What…I…" Sentinel was lying by the side of the teeth, rubbing his head. Megatron, from where he was standing, could practically see the little stars spiraling around the Autobot trooper's head.

"I guess a little red Decepticon-in-training really _can_ defeat a big, dumb, huge-chinned Autobot," Tomato said proudly.

"You'll never win!" Sentinel cried, even though it was obvious that he was in extreme pain from his head injury. "Decepticons are all savages!"

"I heard how you talked to your teammate, how badly you treated him," Tomato told Sentinel. "I think you Autobots could stand to learn something about us Decepticons."

"What's that?"

"That we're not any more savage than you are," Tomato told him, and kneed his enemy right in the nuts and bolts. "We just don't put up with scrap from fools like you."


	10. True Decepticon Warrior

"Sentinel?" Optimus ran towards Sentinel Prime, who had by now drifted into stasis.

"Looks like he's been damaged," said Ratchet.

Megatron, observing, wondered why the Autobots cared so much for him, because all he seemed to do was stop his team from winning the battles. Then again, the Autobots were, according to them, programmed to protect life. Maybe they figured they should all stick together, no matter what.

"Oh, great, now we've already got one big Autobot injury," Optimus said. "And I'm bleeding too much, from my swordfight with Megatron."

"Starscream shot off my arm," Bumblebee added. Sure enough, his arm was missing. Megatron could see the still-sparking wires sticking out of his arm socket. "I'm injured too."

"So…maybe we should surrender for this solar cycle," Optimus said reluctantly. "Megatron, we will give today's battle to you."

"Hooray good riddance," Megatron told him. Optimus and Ratchet helped to drag Sentinel, still unconscious, back to the Autobot base, and the rest (Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Prowl) all followed them.

"You might have won this battle, Megatron, but you have not yet won the war!" Optimus called back as they walked away. "We will always keep on fighting!"

"Fight away!" Megatron said back mockingly. "In the end my Decepticons and I will be the victors!"

"Not even in your dreams, Megatron!" they heard Bumblebee yell, as he and his team finally disappeared from sight.

"Victory is ours, my Decepticons," said Megatron, putting away his swords, and Starscream and Tomato cheered.

…

Megatron was at the desk in his room, writing something very important, staring at the data pad with intense concentration. Finally, when the document was finished, he saved it and sent it to Tomato's data pad.

About a megacycle later, Megatron summoned his second-in-command, Shockwave, and the two of them entered Tomato's room. Tomato was taking a stasis nap on his bed. Megatron walked up to him and shook him to wake him up.

"What—oh, Lord Megatron!" said Tomato, bolting up. "Sorry, I just thought I should get some stasis after the battle earlier this solar cycle. I'm sorry about sleeping on the job like that."

"Okay, um…just don't let it happen again, then," Megatron replied. He wasn't very angry, mostly because Tomato hadn't actually been given an assignment that afternoon. "Either way, though, there's a reason why Shockwave and I came to your room."

"We have something very important for you," Shockwave added. "Have you checked your data pad recently?"

"No," said Tomato.

"Well, check it now," Megatron told him. "I sent an important document to you."

Tomato looked shocked, but he went to his desk and got his data pad. As soon as it was turned on, he went to his virtual mailbox and opened what Megatron sent him. When he read it, his red optics almost popped out of his head.

"W-What?" Tomato asked. "I'm…I'm invited to my Branding Ceremony?"

"Yes," Shockwave replied. "We've decided you're ready for it."

"But…but I-I didn't finish the obstacle course," Tomato sputtered. "How could I be possibly be ready to receive this honor yet?"

"Showing courage and quick thinking in a real battle is much more important than completing an artificial obstacle course," Megatron answered, feeling proud of Tomato. "In this solar cycle's battle, you have more than proved your worthiness to me."

"Oh, wow, um…thank you," Tomato told him, still looking shocked. This was going to be a big moment for him. "When will you do it?"

"Next solar cycle," Megatron replied.

"Ack!" said Tomato, falling backwards onto his bed and dropping his data pad on the floor.

"Um, are you all right?" asked Shockwave, walking over to Tomato.

"_Next solar cycle_?" Tomato repeated, lifting his head up.

"Is there something wrong with that?" said Megatron.

"N-No!" Tomato cried. "It just kind of…took me by surprise, y'know?"

Megatron sighed. "Lots of things are like that."

"Really, Tomato, you've got no reason to worry," Shockwave said, holding out his hand.

Tomato grabbed Shockwave's hand and sat up. "Yes I do! I have a lot to worry about! What about all the ceremonies and all that? And the pain that a branding iron can cause? Why don't you just use stickers like the Autobots do? Or can't I at least be put into stasis for it or something?"

"No, you must bear witness," Shockwave explained.

"And there's no way we're going to wear stickers like those foolish Autobots do!" Megatron smacked Tomato on the head. "Be brave! At least _act_ like you deserve this honor!"

Tomato, still looking panicked, got up off of his bed, stood up straight, and gave Megatron his four-fingered salute. "Understood, my liege."

**THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

As soon as he awakened from stasis that morning, Tomato could already smell smoke. For a few moments, he wondered why, until he remembered that it was the smell of a branding iron getting heated up, just for him. It was the smell of the ceremony that represented the fact that he was now a true Decepticon warrior.

Tomato felt beyond nervous, but he got out of bed and headed for the kitchen anyway. Maybe some dark energon would numb some of his pain, he thought, even though he hadn't had any dark energon since the very first time he'd tried it.

All the Decepticons except Megatron and Lugnut were already at the table. Tomato knew it was because Megatron was getting ready for the Branding Ceremony, and Lugnut was probably just bothering him but not doing anything really useful, like always.

"Good morning, Tomato," said Starscream.

Tomato nodded and walked to the refrigerator. Inside were containers of dark energon. Tomato had promised himself he would drink some, but he lost his courage at the last moment and grabbed some of the fizzy energon instead. What kind of Decepticon was he, being afraid of a little dark energon? Tomato felt like a total fraud.

"I'm totally ready for this," Tomato muttered, trying to sound casual as he sat down at the breakfast table.

"Oh, come _on_." Blackarachnia rolled her optics at him. "You're just being a 'fraidy bot, like usual."

"Well, it's too late for that, you know," said Starscream, as Tomato opened the fizzy energon cube. "Now you _have_ to go through with it, Tomato."

"Just think of zee honor and zee glory," added Blitzwing's Icy face. (Unfortunately, Blitzwing was drinking even more fizzy energon than Tomato was, so Crazy was bound to show up soon.)

"I guess so…" Tomato sighed and took a sip of his fizzy energon.

"Blitzwing is right, you know," said Shockwave. "Trust me."

…

After several fizzy energon cubes, Tomato's breakfast plan had backfired. Not only was he nervous, now he was all hyped up on fizzy energon, too.

"_There _you are, Tomato," said Megatron, walking into the room, then looking over at the kitchen table. "Come on, everyone. It's time to get to the main monitor room."

Lugnut was holding Megatron's branding iron, which was the size and shape of the Decepticon insignia. Everyone left, and Tomato followed them, lagging behind.

"I shall help you, oh great and glorious Master," Lugnut told Megatron. "I will not fail you! I will not—"

"Okay, okay, we _get _it, Lugnut," Megatron said impatiently. "Tomato, come forth."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Tomato walked over to where Megatron was standing and saluted.

"Get down on one knee," Megatron ordered. "You shall take the Decepticon Oath, get branded, and officially join my ranks."

"Yes, my liege." Tomato got down on one knee.

"Repeat after me, Tomato," Megatron said. "I pledge my unquestioning loyalty to Megatron and the Decepticon cause."

"I pledge my unquestioning loyalty to Megatron and the Decepticon cause," Tomato repeated in all seriousness, looking down at the floor.

"I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron…by any means necessary."

"I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a Decepticon-controlled Cybertron…by any means necessary."

"And annihilate all who have driven us from our rightful home world…"

"And annihilate all who have driven us from our rightful home world…"

"Surrender is _not _an option."

"Surrender is _not _an option."

"Welcome, brave Decepticon." Megatron gestured for the branding iron, and Tomato stood up. Lugnut handed the branding iron over; everyone either winced or turned away as Megatron clamped one servo on Tomato's shoulder to hold him still and pressed the branding iron right on the front of his chestplate.

Tomato had been expecting this, all too much, but still it must have come as a surprise to him anyway, because he screamed with the sudden scorching-hot pain he was enduring. Everyone, understanding what he was going through, was either wincing, covering their audio receptors, refusing to even look, or all three, simultaneously.

Megatron, still holding his branding iron with one servo and Tomato's shoulder with the other, held the branding iron on Tomato's chest for a few moments longer—even though to Tomato, it felt like stellar cycles. And then it was over.

Tomato's chest was still smoking, but Blitzwing ran up and gave him some ice. Tomato quickly pressed the ice onto his chest.

"Thanks," he said in a shaky voice, lifting his head up and wiping his eyes.

Blitzwing nodded, and Tomato sat down on the couch. Only then did he have the chance to look down at his chest, which was now emblazoned with the purple Decepticon insignia. Once Tomato caught sight of it, he couldn't _stop _staring at it.

"Well, I guess you really are a true Decepticon now, then." Megatron sat down next to Tomato on the couch and, uncharacteristically, put his arm around him in a comforting way. "It doesn't still hurt, does it?"

"It does," Tomato told him. "But I realize now that you guys _were _right. The honor and glory of receiving this stamp are worth the pain."

"Yes, of course they are," said Shockwave, sitting down next to them. "Do you guys want to watch my favorite show, _Decepticon Spies Weekly_?"

"Um…" Tomato didn't really know what to say. In truth, he hated _Decepticon Spies Weekly_, but then again, Shockwave was his superior, so how could he protest? However, not everyone seemed to be thinking this way.

"I _hate _that show!" Starscream yelled. "Why can't we ever watch what _I _want to watch? Let's see what's on the Seeker channel. Maybe there's something good on."

"You mean like _Wind Beneath My Wings_?" Shockwave suggested sarcastically. "Everybody knows you're in love with the show, Starscream, so you can stop saying you hate it."

"I _do_ hate it!" Starscream insisted. "It's for femmes!"

"Like that ever stopped you," said Shockwave. "Besides, I bet you like _Seeker Daily Drama_, too."

"_NOBODY _LIKES THAT SHOW!" Starscream hollered at the top of his lungs.

"Remember, guys, _Cybertron_'_s Got Talent_ is on too," Blackarachnia reminded them.

"Or what about _Autobot Makeover Madness_?" Blitzwing added.

"Let's watch _Decepticon Horror Show_," Megatron told them. "You know, the one with the monster that's put together from parts of offline Autobots. That's on soon too."

"I will watch whatever my Master wants to watch!" Lugnut thundered.

"Just turn the stupid TV on," said Blackarachnia, so Blitzwing picked up the remote and turned it on. Unfortunately, the first thing they saw was a very dramatic episode of _Wind Beneath My Wings_, the show Shockwave was convinced Starscream liked.

"B-But…I _love _you!" some random Seeker was saying, with another femme Seeker nearby him.

"I can do _way _much better than you," she told him, preparing to walk out. The mech was starting to cry, even though it was obvious the actor was faking it. (One of the more infamous qualities of _Wind Beneath My Wings _was its terrible acting.)

"C-Come b-back!" he sobbed, running out the door after her. It was a snowy night out and all the streetlights were glowing. The mech slipped in the snow then got up, chilled by the winter weather.

"I'm leaving you!" the femme shouted. "And I'm taking the sparklings with me!"

"All five?" asked the mech.

"Yes!" the femme told him. "Even though the youngest has a broken wing, the triplets are always fighting, and the oldest is dealing with her growing pains by becoming a kleptomaniac, I still love each and every one of them!"

"They were all accidents, though!" the mech whined. "Can't I keep just one?"

"I'd love to stick around, loser," she said sarcastically, "but I gotta jet."

"PLEASE COME BACK!" the mech cried, but alas, he was too late. His love turned to jet mode and soared into the sky at an amazing speed.

"No!" they heard Starscream say. They saw that he was holding one of the couch pillows, looking a little teary. "I was sure she would stay with him until the next season!"

"Umm…what?" said Shockwave, looking in Starscream's direction.

"Oh, um, nothing!" Starscream covered up his faceplates with the pillow.

"We should probably turn this off now, Starscream," Shockwave told him solemnly, changing the channel to _Decepticon Spies Weekly_. "I think you've proven my point."

Megatron and Tomato looked at each other and grinned, then everyone but Starscream burst into laughter.


	11. Crucial Battle

**SEVERAL SOLAR CYCLES LATER…**

Tomato was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Starscream. Truthfully, he wasn't so much actually watching it as he was playing on his data pad next to Starscream, who, in contrast, seemed very absorbed into _Wind Beneath My Wings_ again. (Now that everybody knew about his love for the show, Starscream figured he should probably just go ahead and watch.)

"I-I can't leave you," the femme Seeker from the other episode was saying to _another _mech. The femme seemed about to leave somewhere.

"You'll never have to, my love," he whispered, kissing her on her forehead. "No matter how far away this battle takes you, we will always be closer to each other than ever…in our sparks."

"Forever?" Tears were welling up in her optics.

"Forever." This time they kissed on the lips, as romantic music played in the background.

"Oh, dear Primus, that show _stinks_!" said Blackarachnia, walking into the room. "How could anyone possibly like this show?"

"We don't have to like _all _the same things, Blackarachnia," Starscream informed her, optics still glued to the screen.

"In other words, we know how Seekers like to behave when they're in heat," Megatron added, smirking as he joined them by the TV. Tomato had no idea what "in heat" meant, but everyone else in the room started laughing, so he laughed too (albeit rather artificially).

"I'm _not_ in heat!" Starscream yelled. "Now let me watch my show!"

"Watch away," said Megatron. "But I know you're going clubbing tonight, and if you bring back any more femmes, you're as good as offline. Got it?"

"Got it," Starscream mumbled.

"What does 'in heat' mean?" asked Tomato innocently.

"None of your business," said Starscream.

"Son-of-a-glitch!" yelled Tomato.

"Hmm, guess he picked up bad language somewhere or another, huh?" Starscream looked up at Megatron, who was rolling his optics.

"Just ignore him, Tomato," said Megatron. "He's the one who's—"

Megatron was cut off mid-sentence by knocking on the door. Everybody jumped, because they hadn't been expecting any visitors, but Megatron went to the door, because he apparently had been expecting the visitor.

"Who is it?" asked Megatron.

"Swindle!" the visitor called. "Weapon delivery!"

"Oh, good," said Megatron, letting Swindle in. Swindle was carrying a small cardboard box. All the Decepticons gathered around, waiting to see what the weapon was this time.

"What's in here?" asked Tomato curiously.

"It's another weapon for you," Megatron explained. "You know what I always say—never bring a sword to a gunfight. So I got you a gun."

"You did?" asked Tomato, sounding surprised. "I don't think a gun like yours would work with me, my liege. That's my alt. mode, remember?"

"No, not like mine," Megatron explained. "Mine is way too big for you…and most other 'bots. I got you a handgun more suited to your size."

"Umm…okay," said Tomato. "Well, let's see it then!"

Swindle took Tomato's handgun out of the box and handed it to him. It was a battle-grade handgun, made out of a strong metal native to Cybertron. It had a silver-and-red color scheme, just like its owner, and it was big—not too big for Tomato, but still big enough to pack a punch. It was beautiful.

Tomato ran his finger over the trigger. The handgun was not loaded, but still, he felt amazed at what he could do with this during battle.

"My gun is like yours in the way that it is meant to attach to your arm," Megatron told Tomato, and carefully attached the handgun to Tomato's arm. They were similar—Megatron had a gigantic cannon on his arm, and Tomato had a more modest-sized handgun on his arm.

"So what do you think?" asked Swindle.

"It's…it's…" Tomato realized he had never actually owned a gun in his life. He _was _a gun, yes, but he didn't constantly have one attached to his arm like Megatron did. It could come in handy. Now, instead of using his sword, he could also shoot people in battle, which made him less easy of a target to hit. "It's fantastic!"

Megatron paid Swindle and Swindle left. Megatron loaded Tomato's gun and asked him to try it out.

"Well…um…okay, if you want me to," Tomato said nervously. He shot the gun; with a blast of fire, a bullet flew across the room. Everyone except Megatron ducked, and Tomato looked even more nervous. "Are you sure I can use this in battle?"

"Don't ever be afraid of your own weapons," Megatron told him. "You will often find them being your best friends in the heat of battle."

**ONE EARTH MONTH (OR, ONE LUNAR CYCLE) LATER**…

The last lunar cycle had been pretty uneventful. Tomato was practicing at using his gun, and working on getting over his fear of heights, even though this training was a lot harder than just practicing with a gun, which he actually found pretty easy. Currently, Tomato was practicing flying with Starscream at his training course.

"Okay now, transform and rise up!" called Starscream. (Tomato suspected that Starscream liked being in charge of the flying session.)

Tomato flew up into the air and his stomach churned. He thought of falling and possibly sustaining major injuries; of crashing into something; or even of being attacked by some kind of flying Autobot. Unfortunately, this caused Tomato to lose his concentration…and he crashed into a tree.

"Get me out of this tree!" Tomato hollered, not even attempting to get himself out.

"Oh, Tomato," said Starscream, flying up and rescuing Tomato from the tree.

"Wow," said Tomato, once they'd landed. "Thanks for that."

"Listen, Tomato," Starscream told Tomato seriously. "It's important to just relax when you're flying. If you're tense, this isn't going to work. Don't focus on your fears."

"There are so many things that could go wrong, though," Tomato explained, looking up at the tree that he had crashed into.

"_Yes_, that's true, but what I'm saying is, if you focus on those things, it's more likely that they will happen," Starscream protested. "Concentrate on improving your flying skills, instead. Be cautious, not fearful."

Feeling scared but trying to ignore it, Tomato took off into the air once again. After a little practice, he heard a menacing voice from the ground.

"This is the Elite Guard!" It was Ultra Magnus. "Come out with your servos up!"

"Oh, _no_!" Tomato cried, spiraling out of control and smacking into the trunk of another tree. This time, he didn't get stuck, but something decidedly worse happened—he slammed into the tree face-first (very hard), slid down the trunk, and dropped onto the ground, face-down.

"Ouch," said Starscream.

"Where is Megatron?" demanded Ultra Magnus.

"W-Who are you?" asked Tomato, scrambling up from the ground.

"We are the Elite Guard," Ultra Magnus explained. Ironhide, Jazz, and Blurr were with him. (Sentinel Prime wasn't there, because he was still supervising Optimus's team.) "We have come to place Megatron under arrest."

"Well, he won't go down without a fight!" Tomato said. "Surrender is not an option!"

"Then we're coming in!" Ironhide said back in his deep voice.

Starscream probably didn't care if Megatron got arrested—in fact, he was most likely _hoping_ for it—but Tomato couldn't let his Master get arrested. Besides, if he did, the rest of the Decepticons would get arrested too, and the war would probably be lost.

"Megatron!" Tomato screamed. "Get out here, _pronto_!"

"What happened, Tomato?" asked Megatron, walking off the ship.

"Someone called the Elite Guard is here!" Tomato cried, panicked. "I don't know who they are, but they want to arrest you!"

Tomato always felt loyal to Megatron, because Megatron was the one who had taken care of him after his father had died. It was true that Megatron had killed Tomato's father, but Megatron really did care about Tomato, whether he would admit it or not, and Tomato trusted and looked up to him. (Tomato didn't remember his adoption, anyway, because he was much too small when it happened.)

"Don't worry," Megatron told Tomato, glaring at the Elite Guard. "I can take care of myself."

Without hesitating, he aimed his cannon right at Ultra Magnus and fired. Ultra Magnus fell backwards. Starscream shot at Ironhide (even though this didn't matter, because he used his iron armor to protect himself from Starscream's weaponry). Jazz attacked Megatron with his numchucks, but Megatron deflected them with his swords.

"I'll help you, Lord Megatron!" yelled Tomato. Without even thinking, he flew into the air, the adrenaline helping to rid him of his fears. He flew above Jazz's head and shot it with his handgun.

Jazz winced in pain, and Ironhide looked at Tomato. "Who just shot your head, Jazz?"

Ultra Magnus walked up to Tomato and squinted. "This 'bot looks familiar…I just can't put my finger on it…what's your name, son?"

"Why should I tell you my name?" asked Tomato.

"Don't mess with Ultra Magnus!" called Ironhide angrily. "Just tell him your name!"

"M-My name is Tomato," whispered Tomato.

Tomato didn't remember the Elite Guard, because he had been so young when he left them. But apparently, they remembered him. Ultra Magnus's blue eyes widened. That dark-red paint job…the name…the sparkling who went missing so long ago…they had found his father's sparkless shell, but he had been gone, no matter how hard they'd searched…it was him!

"Tomato!" Ultra Magnus hollered. "Autobots! Grab him! Now!"

"What?!" cried Tomato.

"Grab his arms!" they heard Ironhide yell, and Blurr raced around Tomato faster than lightning—and when he stopped, Tomato was caught in stasis lock, his hands caught in heavy shackles.

"What's going on?!" Tomato tried to struggle, but it was hopeless—not only was he in stasis lock, but Ironhide and Ultra Magnus had both of his arms in a tight grip. "Megatron, help! Help!"

Megatron fired the cannon at the Autobots again and ran toward Tomato. "Hold on!"

"Let me _go_!" Tomato yelled, struggling as hard as he could. "What do you want with me?"

Megatron fired the cannon again and again, and his aim was good; but it was too late. The Autobots transformed and sped away.


	12. The Truth Hurts

"Come on!" Megatron turned to alt. mode, and so did Starscream. Traveling through air was faster, it was true, but the Autobots turned around corner after corner and kept on going, no matter how much the Decepticons chased after them. Nobody could see the Elite Guard ship and eventually, the Decepticons had lost the Autobots.

"WHERE is their base?" called Starscream.

"They have an invisible cloaking device," Megatron told him. "With our luck, we probably flew past it, long ago."

Megatron turned to robot mode, landed on the ground, and put his head in his hands.

"What…what should we do now?" asked Starscream, as he landed too.

"They've thrown us off their trail, Starscream." Megatron shook his head and turned to helicopter mode again; Starscream turned to jet mode and followed him back to base. "We must do the only thing we can do."

"Go home," said Starscream sadly, and they both did.

…

As soon as he and Starscream boarded the ship again, Megatron slowly made his way to his room. In the main monitor room everyone stared at him.

"What happened, my liege?" asked Shockwave.

"And where's Tomato?" added Blitzwing's Icy face.

"Like we _care _about that little brat," Blackarachnia said, rolling her optics. "He's so annoying."

Except for Shockwave, Tomato was the only one of his followers Megatron actually liked. After all, Starscream was smart but not loyal, Lugnut was loyal to the core but as dumb as a rock, Blitzwing was crazy, and Blackarachnia answered only to herself.

And so, Megatron was very angry when he heard Blackarachnia call Tomato a brat, but he wasn't in the mood for giving her a punishment right now. Maybe later. For now, he just wanted to go to bed. As soon as Megatron got to his room, he sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.

_This is all my fault_, he thought. _If only I_'_d caught Tomato in time_…_if only we hadn_'_t lost the Autobots_…_it_'_s all my fault_. _What kind of father am I_?

The Autobots had taken Tomato. As he let the reality sink in, Megatron felt a single tear fall from his optic as he continued to wonder why he had allowed the enemy to take Tomato, the miniature Decepticon he had raised almost entirely by himself. He couldn't get the scene out of his CPU—Tomato being held still by Elite Guard members, his hands in heavy shackles, and being dragged back to their ship, screaming for help.

"Sir?" he heard someone say.

Megatron turned around, and it was Shockwave. Shockwave's Decepticon mode made him look relatively expressionless most of the time, but Megatron could tell he felt sad too. "Starscream told me what happened. I'm…very sorry for your loss."

"Why are you sorry?" Megatron mumbled, not taking his hands off his face. "It's not your fault."

"Please, don't blame yourself, my liege," Shockwave insisted, sitting down next to Megatron and taking his Master's head out of his hands. "It's the Autobots' fault, not yours. They are as horrible as they come."

"I didn't realize this until now, Shockwave, but…Tomato was my son," Megatron told his second, letting his devastation speak for him. "I taught him almost everything he knows. I showed him how to use his sword, his handgun, how to get through obstacles…I tried to do a good job raising him to be a warrior…but now look what I've gone and done."

"Listen to me, my Lord." Shockwave's voice sounded a little helpless. "I know you did all you could to save him. I know you care about him. You're not only a good Decepticon leader to us all, you were also a good father to Tomato."

"I don't think I've told you this but…one time, when Tomato was a lot younger, we'd just finished a solar cycle of training. Then on our way back…" Megatron's voice was constricted as he tried to hold tears back. "I told him he'd done a good job training…and he said, 'Thank you, Daddy.' It was the sweetest thing…he said it like I was his real father."

"You _are _his real father," Shockwave said. "His birth father only knew him for a short time, but you've known him for longer. And _you _are the one who raised him. You turned him into a fine young mech, too."

"Possibly." Megatron shrugged. "I know this might sound stupid, but I didn't know how much I would miss him…until he was gone."

"It doesn't sound stupid, my Lord." Shockwave put his arm around Megatron. "Lots of things are like that."

…

When Tomato came out of stasis, he was lying down on a gurney. His shackles were off, so he sat up quickly. Where _was _he?

Then he remembered getting captured earlier by those 'bots who called themselves the Elite Guard. It was so confusing, but there was nothing he could do. What did the Elite Guard want with _him_? He had never even _met _them before! What harm did he do to _them_?

Right at that moment, Ultra Magnus entered the room with Red Alert, one of the Elite Guard's doctors, and Perceptor, the Elite Guard's head scientist.

"Do what you will with me, Autobot scum!" Tomato hollered, optics shut, as soon as he saw them. "I'll never reveal a single bit of classified Decepticon information."

"Relax," Red Alert said, as he sat down next to Tomato. "We're not going to hurt you. You're home now, with your fellow Autobots."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tomato glared at the three Autobots. "I'm a Decepticon warrior."

"No," Ultra Magnus whispered, running his fingers across the Decepticon stamp on Tomato's chestplate. "Dear Primus, no."

"That monster," said Red Alert quietly, shaking his head.

"What did he do to you?" asked Ultra Magnus. "Tell us what he did to you."

"What did _you _do to me?" cried Tomato in confusion. "Please, just tell me why I'm here!"

"I don't think he remembers," Perceptor said to Ultra Magnus and Red Alert, then turned to Tomato. "You see, Tomato…you were born on this ship. You were going on a spy mission with your father, he was a scout, you see. After your father didn't return, we went looking for him. By the time we found him, he was offline, but there was no sign of you."

"We searched for you for lunar cycles," added Ultra Magnus. "Megatron killed your father then captured you, didn't he?"

"You're lying." Tomato glared at them all. "Never trust an Autobot!"

"If that's what that warmonger told you, don't listen," Red Alert warned him. "It's just like Megatron to torture a sparkling like you. He hurt you, didn't he? _Didn_'_t _he?"

"Lord Megatron treated me well," Tomato told them all angrily, staring down at his lap. "He punishes those who deserve it. I am loyal to my Master, and I have completed my training. I have pleased him with my courage in battle. I have worked hard to deserve the Decepticon insignia on my chestplate, of which I am gladly guilty."

"Please, Tomato, please snap out of it," Ultra Magnus pleaded. All three of them looked pretty panicked. "You're among friends here."

"I will _never_ befriend an Autobot," Tomato insisted.

"Calm down," said Red Alert, as Tomato continued to glare at them, chestplate heaving. "We would never lie to you. You're one of ours."

"I am not one of yours!" Tomato yelled, jumping off of the gurney, burning-hot tears streaming from his optics. "You took me from my home! You're just as awful as Megatron says you are! _All _of you!"

"Tomato has been completely institutionalized, brainwashed," Ultra Magnus told the other two sadly.

"Yes, he has forgotten what it is like to live outside of Megatron's torture chamber," Perceptor agreed, shaking his head. "Come, take some oil, Tomato."

"I'm not thirsty," Tomato mumbled.

"You have to have fuel," Perceptor told him. "You need strength."

"Are you really being honest?" asked Tomato, looking up at all three of them. "Did I really live with the Elite Guard when I was a sparkling?"

"Why would we lie to you?" asked Ultra Magnus gently. "I know it will be hard to forget your past traumas, but if you try, you might be happy coming home."

"I don't want to come back," Tomato told them. "Megatron's ship, the _Nemesis_,is my home."

"Tomato, listen to me." Tomato looked into the optics of Red Alert, which were filling with tears. "I know Megatron has been awful to you, but you're home now. We all remember you. We all missed you. I'm the doctor who delivered you. I was good friends with your deceased father, our team's head scout. Where has our Tomato gone? Please, tell me he is not gone."

"What happened to my mother?" asked Tomato. "Is she still online?"

Red Alert shook his head sadly. "She did not survive your birth, I'm afraid."

"It's a miracle we found you," Perceptor told Tomato. "You were such a perfect sparkling."

"Oh," said Tomato quietly. "I…I guess I really do have Autobot programming, then."

"Yes, you do," Ultra Magnus told Tomato gently. "You just didn't know it."

Tomato had been biting his lip to bleeding as he tried to stop himself from crying, but at the Elite Guard leader's words he started sobbing uncontrollably, hands over his face. Ultra Magnus reached over and wrapped him up in a hug; Tomato tried to resist, but he just collapsed and let his tears fall.

…

By bedtime, the Elite Guard had set up a makeshift bedroom for Tomato in the storage room. Tomato was lying on this old wooden bed, staring at the ceiling. All that solar cycle, he'd had no appetite, he couldn't go half a megacycle without crying, and all he wanted was for everyone to just leave him alone.

Tomato got out of bed and stared at his reflection in the mirror on the wall, then looked down at his chest. By now the Autobots had taken away his weapons and slapped an Autobot sticker on top of his Decepticon stamp. Without even thinking, Tomato started sobbing harder than ever.

It was incomprehensible. As far back as he could remember, his whole life cycle, he had been a Decepticon. He'd always had an innate hatred for the Autobots. How could he be _one _of them? He didn't feel like an Autobot coming home to his family after being taken away for so long; he just felt like a lost Decepticon who had been taken away from the only family he had ever known.


	13. Life Goes On

**ONE EARTH WEEK LATER…**

Tomato had been living on the Elite Guard ship for one week now, and he still didn't feel like he was at home. He was online, but not really living. He didn't feel like getting out of bed, but the other Autobots urged him to, making him interact with the others. Deep down, Tomato knew they meant well, but they didn't know how he really felt. They couldn't bring themselves to understand that all he really wanted was to go back to the _Nemesis_.

One morning, Tomato was sitting on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, because that was all he wanted to do. He heard a small knock on his door and Red Alert came in, carrying oilcake.

"I brought you some oilcake, Tomato." Red Alert sat down on the side of the bed. "When you were younger you used to love it."

"Do you have fizzy energon?" asked Tomato, wishing to taste a drop of home.

"_N_o," Red Alert replied with emphasis. "Fizzy energon is VERY bad for you."

"I don't care," replied Tomato. "I told you, I don't want to be here."

"Oh, sure you do," Red Alert said. "Megatron didn't have any oilcake on his ship, did he?"

"No, but he had fizzy energon, normal energon, and dark energon," Tomato replied.

"Not dark energon!" yelled Red Alert. "How much did you drink?!"

"I didn't drink that much," Tomato told him. "I didn't really like it. It was a little strong…but the others drank it all the time."

"Well, we don't have it here, because it is like the very blood of Unicron," said Red Alert. "We will never hurt you like Megatron has."

"Megatron was good to me," Tomato protested, anger welling up inside of him again.

Red Alert shook his head and sighed. "Look, Tomato…maybe it will be better if you talk about it."

"What's there to talk about?" Tomato asked. "Do you want to hear about how he turned me from a weakling to a warrior? About he taught me to be strong and smart and fast? How he gave me my weapons and my Decepticon insignia when I deserved it?"

"That's not how sparklings should be treated," Red Alert told Tomato. "When was he kind to you?"

"It's called tough love," Tomato told him. "Megatron never tortured me, ever…and he was my father."

"Your father wasn't Megatron," Red Alert insisted. "I knew your father. He and I were very close friends. You can't imagine how devastated I was when I found out he was offline. Don't you care that Megatron killed your real father?"

"I hardly knew him," Tomato replied. "Megatron was the one who raised me and made a Decepticon out of me. Besides, my father was a scout, so he would have told you where our base was, and we would have lost this stupid war."

Tears streamed down Tomato's faceplates, no matter how hard he tried to hold them back. Of course it wasn't a good thing his father had been killed, but he didn't want to be taken away from Megatron and the others, either. It was horrible how he had been yanked away from everything he held dear to his spark.

"Please just leave me alone," Tomato whispered, burying his faceplates in his pillow. "None of you ever will ever understand."

"Are you sure?" asked Red Alert, but when Tomato didn't answer, he just said, "Okay then," and left the room.

**THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

It was about afternoon, and Tomato was lying in his bed again, not talking to anybody, when he heard Ultra Magnus yelling for all the Autobots to report to the main monitor room.

"Everyone!" he was hollering. "Enemy contact!"

Out of habit, Tomato reached into where his sheath used to be and prepared to pull out his sword, then remembered his sword wasn't there any more. His gun was gone, too. When the Autobots had taken them away, he had protested, but there had been nothing he could do.

When he heard the cry "Enemy Sighting", though, Tomato did what he had been trained to do and forgot about anything that was holding him back. He ran to the main monitor room and looked around until he located the place where the Autobots had dumped his weapons. As quickly as he could, he reattached the gun and grabbed the sword as fast as he could. Looking down at his chestplate, he tore the Autobot sticker right off to reveal the Decepticon stamp of which he was incredibly proud.

"Decepticon Warrior Tomato reporting for duty, my liege," he whispered.

Tomato looked up at the screen of the main monitor room, where there was a projector image of Megatron speaking. (He was still back at the base, of course, but he was contacting the Elite Guard like this through his com. link.)

"What do you want from us, Megatron?" asked Ultra Magnus.

"Do not fear us, Autobots," Megatron answered, expressionless. "I have called to offer you a deal."

"Elaborate," said Ultra Magnus.

"We have what you are looking for," Megatron told him. "If you were to pay us a price for it, we will give you the AllSpark fragments we have found."

Tomato stared at his leader, mouth wide open. Had Megatron blown a diode? Why was he giving up the AllSpark fragments they had? How badly did he need what he was asking for in return?

"We could really use those AllSpark fragments," someone said quietly.

"So be it," Ultra Magnus told Megatron firmly, then turned to the team. "All able-bodied troopers, come with me. The rest of you stay back and guard the base."

"Aye sir!" Ironhide shouted, and all the Autobots who were going went outside. Tomato followed them.

"Why do you want to come along?" asked Ultra Magnus.

"I, um, I've just been thinking," Tomato lied, thinking quickly. "You guys were right. Megatron _is _horrible. I think I should fight him with you, for I seek revenge."

In truth, the only reason Tomato was coming along was because he wanted to stop Megatron from giving the AllSpark away before it was too late. In no way did he think Megatron was horrible, and he would be fighting against the Elite Guard, not with them.

"Well, okay," Ultra Magnus told him, sounding surprised—so surprised, in fact, that he didn't notice how Tomato had gathered his weapons and ripped off his Autobot sticker.

All the Autobots transformed and headed to the Decepticon base. Since Tomato had become able to fly during his training, Autobot programming or no, he flew to the base at a slow pace as the Autobots drove. Sure, it was still a little scary to fly, but he remembered Starscream's advice—he should be cautious, not fearful.

After Tomato had flown for awhile, and the Autobots had driven, the _Nemesis _was finally in sight. Tomato wanted to land on the ground and run right back into base, but he knew better.

When everybody had arrived and turned to robot mode, Ultra Magnus called, "Come out, Megatron! We've decided this deal sounds very good for us Autobots."

"Oh, yes," said Megatron, coming out of the base and pointing his gun right at the troopers. "It sounds very good for me, too."

Before anybody (including Tomato) knew what was happening, Megatron blasted his cannon at Ultra Magnus, smashing him into a pile of rocks by Tomato's obstacle course. The others ran toward Megatron, on the attack, but Megatron, undaunted, managed to hold back their attacks. That was when he turned his head…and noticed Tomato.

"Tomato!" he hollered. "Come on!"

"Decepticon Warrior Tomato, reporting for duty, sir!" yelled Tomato, whipping out his sword and charging headlong into battle.

There were several Autobots he had to fight past, but Tomato used his martial arts skills to take them down, sometimes with the help of his sword or gun. Megatron had been right after all—his weapons _could _be his best friends during battle.

"What do you think you're doing, Tomato?!" asked Ultra Magnus. "I thought you were on our side!"

"Like scrap I am!" Tomato shouted, knowing his leader would be proud. "I am a Decepticon, through and through!"

Before the Elite Guard could say anything back, Tomato ran off, doing his best to take down any enemy who blocked his way. That's when he heard a shriek from behind him. Instinctively, he ran towards the sound, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

It was an Autobot femme, albeit one he'd never seen before. She was a beautiful dark-blue, a little smaller than Tomato, and probably around his age, too. Unfortunately, she was also breathless with pain—and that's when Tomato noticed her entire leg had been shot off, the shattered remains scattered all over the ground.

"My leg!" she cried, clutching the socket where her leg had previously been attached. "Help!"

"W-What?" asked Tomato, his spark suddenly pounding furiously as the femme opened her optics for a minute in surprise. Her optics were beautiful, too; even though they were tearing up with her pain, their bright blue seemed as if it had been taken from the sky itself. Her paint job was the deep blue of the ocean, as flawless as the rest of her perfect body. Tomato's mouth opened involuntarily and he even dropped his sword.

It wasn't entirely unexpected that Tomato would feel like time had stopped upon meeting this exquisite young Autobot femme—except for Blackarachnia, he had never actually encounteredthe other half of the Cybertronian race before. And besides, Blackarachnia didn't really count.

_This _'bot, on the other hand, was downright ravishing, even with one of her legs shattered to pieces. The femme stared up at Tomato from her place on the ground. Tomato knew he wanted to help, but he didn't know how.

"Help…" the femme whispered.

Tomato was still kind of in shock, but he snapped out of it when he looked at the raw energon flowing steadily out of the femme's leg. Since he knew she needed help, he walked over to her.

"Please, have mercy," she pleaded. "I can't have any more of my body parts broken."

"What are you talking about?" asked Tomato, but then he looked down at the Deception insignia on his chestplate, the gun on his arm, and his sword on the ground. He picked it up and put it back in its sheath. The femme still looked terrified of him.

It was so strange. Tomato knew he wanted to help this femme, but he didn't quite understand the feeling of how fast his spark beat when he looked at her, or why he suddenly felt nervous and even scared. It was similar to the feeling he got when attempting to fly…except he wasn't flying.

And what help could he be, anyway? Obviously her leg needed to be fixed, but he didn't know the first thing about doctoring. All he knew was that she was in trouble, and that she didn't trust him not to hurt her.

"Please don't hurt me, Deception," the femme repeated sadly. "I'm much too damaged already."

"Relax," Tomato told her, kneeling next to her on the ground and lifting her head. "I'm not going to hurt you."


	14. A New Development

"What—what do you mean?" asked the Autobot, looking confused.

"Well, um, I-I…" Tomato was searching for words that he couldn't find. Finally, though, he came up with something he thought might work. "I-I don't know why Primus lets pretty young femmes like you get injured in the heat of battle, but apparently he does."

"Please, help me." She reached her arms out. Tomato picked her up (to the best of his ability) and slung her arm around his shoulders. She leaned on him, using her remaining leg and his support to board the _Nemesis_.

"Just sit down on our couch for a little, okay?" said Tomato nervously, helping her sit down. He was still staring at the socket where her leg was supposed to be attached, and (again) wishing he could be of some help—but he had been trained in battle, not medicine.

"Is there anything you can do for my leg?" she asked desperately. The wound was still as bad as ever; raw energon was still spilling out onto their couch. Tomato thought Megatron might be mad about the couch, but that was the least of his problems right now.

"Wait a minute," Tomato said. He did know one thing—if she lost enough fuel this way, she could easily go offline.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We need to bandage up your leg," Tomato told her quickly. "There's got to be something around here we can use. I'll go look."

"Would you?" she said gratefully.

Tomato searched the ship as fast as he could, and finally located an old roll of medical tape in the storage room. He rushed back out and sat down on the couch next to the femme, who was looking scared again.

"Now, I know this is going to cause slight discomfort, but we need to bandage up your leg socket." Tomato bent down and took off a piece of medical tape. "If you run out of fuel by bleeding so much, you could go offline."

With that, Tomato began to clumsily bandage up her leg, wishing there was a medic around. The femme seemed like she was in deep pain, but she didn't say anything. Maybe she just didn't want to make things worse.

"Is that better?" Tomato asked tentatively, after he'd finished.

"A little." Tomato was relieved to see the femme smile slightly. "Thank you."

"N-No problem," Tomato replied, suddenly feeling embarrassed, for whatever reason. Exhausted, he sat down on the couch next to her. She made him feel uncomfortable, but good at the same time.

"So…what's your name?" Tomato asked, looking almost shyly into her shining blue eyes; she met them, and gave him another smile.

"My name's Blueberry," she replied. "I know it sounds kind of like a weird name for an Autobot, because blueberries are an organic fruit, but I'm just the same color as one, so…"

"It's okay," Tomato told her. "I'm the same color as another type of organic fuel, a tomato. Nobody knows if tomatoes are fruits or vegetables, but since they match my color scheme, I'm known as Tomato."

"Delighted to meet you, Tomato." Blueberry stuck out one dark-blue servo.

"Oh, um…you too," he said, feeling shy again as he took her servo and shook it.

"Thank you." Blueberry looked around the base.

"How come I haven't seen you before?" Tomato asked curiously. "I stayed on the Elite Guard ship for a little, but I didn't see you anywhere."

"Probably because I'm usually not on the ship," Blueberry explained. "Every solar cycle I commute to University of Crystal City, and it takes a lot of time to get there if you're only a little compact." She laughed.

"You go to University of Crystal City?" Tomato asked, interested. "What are you studying?"

"I'm trying to get a degree in science and technology," Blueberry told him. "I want to be an Elite Guard scientist. Science has always interested me. What about you?"

"Oh, um, I-I'm a Decepticon warrior," Tomato replied. "When I was younger I didn't know anything about fighting or anything like that, but my father, Megatron, taught me."

"Well, not that we Autobots know Megatron personally or anything, but…" Blueberry shrugged. "I never thought he'd be the type to want sparklings around his base."

"I was adopted," Tomato explained. "Both my real parents went offline when I was really young, so I can't remember them. I always thought of Megatron as my real father."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Blueberry said, looking shocked and a little embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean to bring that up. That's awful!"

"It's okay," Tomato told her. "I can handle it."

"That's good," said Blueberry, nodding.

The atmosphere of the room had become rather awkward, so Tomato activated a quick subject-change. "So, um, I bet your leg would stop hurting a little if you had some energon. Want some?"

"Well, usually I prefer oil, but I guess I could try some." Blueberry smiled.

"You just sit right here then," Tomato told her, and quickly ran to the refrigerator.

_Hmm_…_what kind of energon should I get her_? _What kind of energon do femmes like_? Tomato recalled that Blackarachnia seemed to drink quite a bit of dark energon, but he didn't guess Blueberry would want it too—he knew Autobots were very much against dark energon. Fizzy energon, maybe? Or should he just stick with the classics (basic energon)?

Tomato decided that basic energon would be the safest, so he grabbed a cube, ran back out into the main monitor room, and handed the cube to Blueberry.

"Thanks," she said. "Want any?"

"N-No thanks," Tomato wheezed, trying to catch his breath and letting Blueberry drink her energon cube.

After that, Tomato and Blueberry didn't talk to each other much for a little. At first, the sounds of the battle could still be faintly heard from outside, but eventually they died down, and the Decepticons walked in, looking exhausted.

"Oh scrap, c'mon!" Tomato hissed. He didn't want to pull Blueberry from the couch so quickly, not in her condition, but he knew that if Megatron saw an Autobot inside the base, he wasn't going to be very happy. So when nobody was looking, Tomato helped Blueberry sneak outside.

As fast as he could, Tomato led Blueberry to where the Elite Guard was getting ready to go back to base. Blueberry winced in pain, but tried to hobble along as best she could.

"I'm a Decepticon, so I can't let the Elite Guard see me," Tomato explained to Blueberry, setting her down on the ground. "Just call out and they'll hear you. Tell them you hurt your leg in battle and need a replacement leg."

"When can I see you again?" Blueberry asked suddenly.

Tomato, taken completely by surprise, fumbled around for words again and finally blurted out, "You want to see me again?"

"Yes, you seem like you'd make a great friend." Blueberry smiled again and brushed Tomato's cheek softly. Though her servo was made of metal, her touch felt warm. "Do you want to see me again?"

"I-I, um, sure!" Tomato knew his (normally silver) faceplates were turning about as red as the rest of his body. "You're—you're, um, nice."

"You're nice, too." Blueberry giggled and Tomato felt that strange feeling again like he was going to blow a gasket. "You made me feel better after my leg got shot off."

"Well, um, I hope it gets fixed," Tomato told her. Of course, he wasn't thinking about Blueberry's leg or the Autobots or anything. He was thinking about how she'd asked him to meet up with her again, which was, to him, one of the best things that had ever happened to him, ever. _An amazing femme like Blueberry wants to meet up with me_? _With ME_?

"Hmm…well, I'm glad you want to meet up again," said Blueberry. "We couldn't see each other on the Elite Guard ship or the _Nemesis_, but how about you sneak away to the Elite Guard ship tomorrow night, and we go someplace else that's special?"

"Of course." Tomato knew he could get in huge trouble if Megatron caught him sneaking out at night, but she was _so _beautiful, and this might be his _only _chance…

"I'll look forward to it." Blueberry gave Tomato a little kiss on the cheek, and he felt a little woozy, like he felt when he was training in the Ropes section of the obstacle course and there was that one that had cut off all the energon flow to his CPU. "You had better get going now, and then I'll call the Autobots to come take me back to base. None of our doctors came with us, so I can't get patched up here."

"Oh, um, that's too bad." Tomato gently patted Blueberry's head, then stood up. "Feel better, and I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

"Okay," said Blueberry. After Tomato had left her side, he heard her calling Ultra Magnus's name, and he knew she was going to be all right. The walk back, however, wasn't very fun for him.

_What were you THINKING_? Tomato scolded himself, recalling the stupid, tactless (in his opinion) things he had said to Blueberry when they met each other. _She probably thinks you_'_re some kind of idiot now_! _Why weren_'_t you able to just TALK to her_? _Are you some kind of freak_? _What_'_s wrong with you_? _Now she probably won_'_t EVER want you to ask her out_! _Don_'_t you have a functioning CPU_?!

"Yes, of course I have a functioning CPU!" Tomato yelled at himself.

_Then why don_'_t you ask her out_? _You should ask her out_. Tomato's conscience kept on harassing him, and it was really getting annoying. _You_'_re too scared to ask her out_, _aren_'_t you_? _Coward_!

"I'M NOT A COWARD!" Tomato hollered, not realizing that he had just stumbled into the main monitor room. "NOW LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU GLITCH-HEAD!"

"Umm…who are you talking to, Tomato?" asked Shockwave, looking at Tomato like he was crazy.

"Oh, um—nobody!" Tomato felt himself blushing again. "Just a little out of it, I guess."

"Did those filthy Autobots mess up your CPU?" Megatron walked furiously up to Tomato and pulled him to the couch.

"I-I, um, I don't know, I guess not," Tomato said nervously, as Megatron pushed him down.

"And what's with all this raw energon on the couch?" Shockwave pointed to the raw energon Blueberry's injury had left.

"How am _I _supposed to know?!" Tomato cried.

"Why are you being so defensive?" asked Starscream.

"Who's defensive? I'm not being defensive!"

Megatron sighed and lifted Tomato up. "Just…just go to your room, okay, Tomato? I'll talk to you later."

"There's—there's nothing wrong with me!" Tomato insisted, but the other Decepticons didn't want to hear it.

**LATER, AROUND NIGHTIME…**

Tomato was trying to go into stasis, but he couldn't get Blueberry out of his CPU—those blue eyes…that beautiful face and body…how she'd kissed him on the cheek…how she'd actually asked to see him again…everything that had happened during their meeting was still fresh in his memory core.

Tomato was sure Megatron thought something was wrong with him now, and that it was the Autobots' doing. Technically, he was right, but he didn't know the _full _story—and he was never going to.

Before he could resist, Tomato picked up his data pad and opened a fresh document, on which he typed "Blueberry + Tomato" and added "3" (a heart). _Very romantic_, he thought.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, the door flew open and Megatron was standing in the doorway. Tomato, panicking, tried to put his data pad away but it accidentally flew out of his servos instead and hit Megatron in the CPU.

Megatron scowled and gave the data pad back to Tomato. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Tomato lied nervously. Never before had he lied to Megatron, but Megatron finding out about his encounter with Blueberry was the last thing he needed. After all, Megatron didn't want anything to do with the Autobots, and Tomato knew it.

"What went on when you were with the Autobots?" asked Megatron seriously, sitting down on the edge of Tomato's bed.

"Really, nothing," Tomato told him. "I-I mean, they were just the glitch-heads you said they were, but they thought I belonged to them…like I was some kind of Autobot relic. I wanted to come home, but they wouldn't let me."

"You would rather stay here, wouldn't you?"

Tomato nodded emphatically, but then he thought of Blueberry again. Trying to hide the tears in his eyes and the blush in his cheeks, he just solved this problem by putting the pillow over his faceplates. The only thing Tomato was looking forward to right now was seeing Blueberry tomorrow night. Only one solar cycle to get through…for him, that was the most important thing.

On the other hand, though, there was no explanation for why Tomato could possibly be feeling this way. Wasn't it true that Blueberry, being an Autobot, was his worst enemy? He couldn't think of her as the enemy, but the way he felt about her was like nothing he had felt before, either, and he just wanted things to be as clear-cut as they were before he got captured. Even though if his capture hadn't happened, he never would have _met _Blueberry, and that couldn't be good…Tomato involuntarily groaned with frustration. It was just too much to handle.

"Oh, Tomato," said Megatron, taking the pillow off Tomato's faceplates and drawing him into a one-armed hug, though Tomato tried to resist. "Just don't worry…it'll be all right."

"No, just forget it." Tomato pulled away and wiped his eyes, scrambling for a way to change the subject. "Why did you tell the Autobots you were giving the AllSpark away? Was it a trap?"

"Yes," Megatron replied. "I wanted you back on our side, so I lured them over here and now you're back home. You can forget all about those horrible Autobots."

"Um, y-yeah, I'll be sure to do that." Tomato couldn't forget Blueberry, but he decided he would try to forget the rest. Who cared about them?

"Okay, good." Megatron squeezed Tomato's shoulder and left the room. Tomato lay down on his side and tried to relax, picturing his love interest in his CPU. Not long after, he drifted into stasis and dreamed about his arms wrapped around her in a gentle embrace, and her giving him a kiss not on his cheeks, but on the lips this time.


	15. Date Night

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

Tomato woke up to the sounds of the other Decepticons talking. At first, he was confused, because yesterday morning, he had woken up on the Elite Guard ship…but then he remembered that he was back home.

Rubbing his optics sleepily, Tomato picked up his tablet from his bedside to read his newspaper app. He didn't really feel like getting out of bed, because he was half in-stasis anyway. Just as he turned on his data pad, the first thing he saw was the document he had written the night before—his confession to loving Blueberry.

Unfortunately, Tomato didn't completely know that he was in love with Blueberry, because he hadn't really ever fallen in love before. All he knew was that he liked the way her gentle touch and kiss had felt, and that he wanted to see her again soon.

And…wait a minute! He _could _see her again soon! She had asked him to come see her tomorrow night! Suddenly, Tomato was filled with uncontrollable energy. He bounded out of bed and ran all the way to the main monitor room, where Megatron was watching his favorite movie, _Decepticon Horror Show_. Shockwave was with him, watching the movie, and Blackarachnia was sitting on the floor, filing her nails. Lugnut was struggling to scrub Blueberry's raw energon out of the couch, but it was dry by now and had stained the material.

"Oh, that's just great," Blackarachnia said, looking up from her nails for a minute to give Tomato a scornful look. "I'd forgotten the little brat came back last night."

"Whatever!" Tomato jumped on the couch and accidentally landed on Lugnut's servos, which were still working hard at their task. "Ouch!"

"Hey!" Lugnut yelled angrily. "Get off of me, you puny red pest!"

"Did I tell you to stop your cleaning?" Megatron asked Lugnut coldly. "You're not leaving that spot until that couch looks like new."

"Yes, my liege!" thundered Lugnut, and kept cleaning while Tomato moved out of the way.

_Decepticon Horror Show_ was a long movie, and it lasted for several megacycles. It was by definition a scary movie, but Megatron didn't get scared of anything, and Tomato wasn't paying attention. Of course he was thinking of his "date" with Blueberry that night. All solar cycle he looked outside the window, waiting for the sky to get dark…waiting…waiting…it was almost like time had stopped!

Finally, though, the Decepticons started to head off to bed. Tomato went to bed, too, pretending to be tired, but of course that was the last thing he was. For a few more megacycles, he waited for Megatron to go to bed; it took a while, but finally he heard the old mech crawl into his bed and fall asleep.

Tomato felt a twinge of nervousness inside him as he got out of bed, his spark pounding. It was now or never. Should he bring Blueberry a gift? Oh no! What kind of gift would she want? It would be rude to not bring a gift, but what if she didn't want the gift he brought her? And what was there to give her, anyway?

After a long internal debate, Tomato decided on a barrel of Decepticon oil, since she had remarked last solar cycle that she really liked oil. Sure, this oil made the Autobots' oil taste like water, but this kind of oil was the only kind the Decepticons had.

The night was dark and quiet as Tomato grabbed the oil out of the refrigerator and snuck out through the main entrance. Since he didn't know where the Elite Guard ship was or how to get there, he turned on his built-in GPS and paid careful attention to where the instructions led him.

Usually, the Elite Guard ship would have its invisible cloaking device on, but little did everyone else know, Blueberry had disabled it as soon as they had gone to sleep. Tomato knew—or at least hoped—that she remembered him and was waiting. He kept on walking until finally, he approached the ship. His nerves were off the radar, and he felt like his CPU was spinning wildly.

"Decepticons are not cowards, Decepticons are not cowards," Tomato kept on repeating to himself as he approached the ship. _So_! _They really didn_'_t put their cloaking device on_!

Tomato couldn't knock on the door, for fear of waking all the Autobots up. Instead he went by the window and looked in, hoping Blueberry would see him as he waved frantically. Luckily, he caught her eye, and she walked outside.

"Nice to see you again, Tomato," she said in a friendly voice. "Wow, is that oil for me?"

"Just—just be careful, Blueberry," Tomato warned her. "It's Decepticon oil, which means it's stronger than Autobot oil."

"Don't worry." Blueberry smiled. Tomato noticed that (unlike him) she seemed to be perfectly at ease—not nervous or shy at all. Sometimes she was a little intimidating, even.

"So anyway, where do you want to go tonight?" asked Tomato. "We can't stay on the _Nemesis_, because you know Megatron hates Autobots."

"Not my ship, either," Blueberry added. "My father is an Elite Guard trooper, and he would shoot you if he saw you with me."

Tomato felt worried, thinking of Blueberry's father shooting him. Quickly he pushed this thought out of his CPU and tried to think of something to say. Unfortunately, Lust-Induced Processor Freeze had taken him victim again, and while she was watching him, he couldn't think of a thing to say. Finally, he blurted out, "Why don't we just take a walk or something?"

"Good idea!" Blueberry told him, and they started to walk. Tomato was wondering if she would like to hold hands, but he didn't want to risk it, because she might not want to after all. _Just enjoy the walk_…_you_'_re supposed to be happy with her_, _not a nervous wreck_.

It was true. Tomato decided his internal monologue was right, and that he should just be himself and have a good time with Blueberry. After all, he had been looking forward to seeing her.

As the walk went on, Blueberry asked, "So, what do Decepticons like to do for fun?"

"Well, um, we like to watch TV, and drink dark energon, and kill Autobots…"

_WHAT THE HECK_? _Blueberry IS an Autobot_! _Now she probably thinks you want to kill her_!

Blueberry stared at Tomato for a little, and then laughed (he felt relieved). "Oh, yes, I know just what you mean…we Autobots love killing Decepticons."

"Oh, um, what do you know?" Tomato mumbled. Now, he was thinking he wasn't very "smooth with the ladies", but how was he supposed to know what would make her fall in love with him, and what would make her think he didn't have a CPU?

"Have you ever watched _Autobot Makeover Madness_?" asked Blueberry. "Or do you not get the Autobot channels?"

"Yes, we get them," Tomato replied. "Megatron hates them, though. Blitzwing is the only one who likes to watch _Autobot Makeover Madness_, but he's usually watching his favorite show, _Dance Your Aft Off_."

"Hmm…I've never heard of that show," Blueberry commented.

"Probably because it's on one of the Decepticon channels, the Dancing Channel," Tomato explained.

"What do the others watch?"

"Starscream is always watching the Seeker channel, especially _Wind Beneath My Wings_, his favorite show," Tomato told her. "Shockwave always watches crime shows and he and Starscream are always fighting over the remote. Blackarachnia likes to watch her favorite show, _Cybertron_'_s Got Talent_, and Megatron is always watching scary movies, usually those involving the gruesome deaths of Autobots. Lugnut just watches whatever Megatron wants to watch."

"Hmm…have you ever watched _Scientific Discoveries_?" asked Blueberry. "It's on one of the Autobot channels, and it's my favorite show. In every episode, they always talk about a certain scientific discovery that has helped all Cybertronians, like special weaponry or a cure for some kind of disease. Sometimes I'll even take notes because it helps me with school."

"You seem pretty smart," Tomato told her, impressed. "I might watch that show sometime, too."

"Maybe someday we could watch it together, then," Blueberry whispered. "I might forget to take notes, though."

Tomato felt his spark starting to pound again. Now he found himself feeling sort of…fluttery. Blueberry was easy to talk to when they discussed everyday topics, he had discovered, but not whenever she said or did anything flirty.

As they walked along, Tomato tried to talk to her more about subjects that wouldn't make them uncomfortable. School seemed to always be safe, so he asked her what it was like to go to University of Crystal City.

"It's pretty nice," she replied, giving him a sweet smile. "I study during my break or at home, and I'm doing really well, I think. We get to do experiments, too, but my lap partner is so scared of science that I have to do it all myself…not that I mind. It's fun."

"What's he scared of?" asked Tomato.

"Oh, I don't know." Blueberry laughed. "I guess he thinks one of our projects will explode on him and he'll get mutated or something."

Blueberry's laugh was so beautiful, just like the rest of her…The two of them just walked along in silence, Tomato wanting to say something, but not knowing what. Every single time he said something, he felt like he sounded somewhat like a goon. Why couldn't he be more like Starscream, who had no trouble talking to femmes and getting them into bed with him? Tomato decided that next time he saw Blueberry, if there was a next time, he should swipe some of Starscream's Super Seeker Miracle Cream, which claimed to make the wearer irresistible.

Finally, when they had walked a while, Tomato said, "Well, I guess I'd better be getting you home now, Blueberry."

"We're closer to the _Nemesis _than we are to my ship," Blueberry reminded him. "We should go to the _Nemesis _first and drop you off, then I'll go back to my ship after you've snuck back in. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great." Tomato smiled.

So they approached the _Nemesis_, and Blueberry and Tomato met at the entrance. Blueberry thanked Tomato for their night together.

"Oh, no, thank _you_," Tomato told her. "Now have a safe walk home, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, and gave him a hug.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	16. Tomato's Secret

Tomato spent most of the next solar cycle in another world, sometimes typing "Tomato + Blueberry" again on his data pad, or simply daydreaming as he peacefully stared into space. He just couldn't forget last night with Blueberry.

Around the middle of the solar cycle, Starscream parked himself in front of the TV, a bowl of miniature energon cubes in his lap, and turned on _Wind Beneath My Wings_. Tomato decided to come over to the couch and watch it with him, since it was kind of a romantic TV show.

The femme Seeker, who always seemed to be drifting from one mech to another, was now flirting with a very handsome Seeker who was grinning at her and holding a champagne class filled with dark energon.

"You know," the femme was saying, "we _could _go back to my place."

"Now there's an idea," the mech said sleazily, then handed her the dark energon. "Why don't you have another shot then?"

"Oh, I don't think I could—oh, what the heck?" The femme downed the dark energon in one gulp and then cried, "Oh, yeah, that's the stuff!"

"Let's go," the mech told her, wrapping her up into his arms. "I'll give you the best pleasure of your life."

Tomato and Starscream were munching on the energon cubes, and staring intently at the TV. The two Seekers on TV were exiting the nightclub, and Tomato and Starscream were waiting to see if anything steamy would happen, when the TV turned to a commercial.

"Oh, scrap!" Tomato and Starscream said at the same time.

"Umm…Tomato?" Starscream looked surprised. "I never knew you liked this show."

"W-Well, um, actually, I-I do," Tomato told him. "Now, I mean."

"That's a good choice," Starscream told Tomato, shrugging. "It's not my favorite show for nothing!"

Tomato sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Do you think the two of them will fall in love after this episode?"

"Well, neither one of these characters actually believe in love, so probably not," Starscream replied matter-of-factly. "It's kind of always a one-night stand for her."

"That's too bad."

"In the end, she's probably going to fall in love with someone for real," Starscream reminded him. "She just hasn't found her other half yet."

"That's romantic," Tomato said. Starscream nodded, and the both of them kept on staring at the screen until the show was over. After that, Blitzwing turned on _Dance Your Aft Off_, so Tomato decided to head to his room for some more daydreaming.

**MEANWHILE…**

Megatron was sitting on his chair with Starscream and Shockwave next to him, and Blitzwing watching _Dance Your Aft Off_. Megatron hated that show, so he tried to ignore it—and he had bigger problems to worry about, anyway.

"Have you two noticed that Tomato seems to be acting a little…different, lately?" Megatron asked Shockwave and Starscream.

"Of course, my liege," Shockwave replied, nodding. "He's in there deep, all right."

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?" asked Megatron, irritated.

"Well, _I_ noticed it from the start," Starscream told him. "Someone has captured his spark, very much so."

"_What_?!" Megatron hollered.

"What word don't you understand?" asked Starscream. "Tomato's in love."

"Since when was he in _love_?" yelled Megatron.

"There's no way of knowing that," Shockwave reminded Megatron matter-of-factly. "And we don't know _who_ he's fallen in love with, either."

"Maybe he met some Decepticon femme on the ship because she was a prisoner too," Starscream suggested. "So they got locked in the same cell, for every solar cycle, all solar cycle, for a week, and the rest is history."

"I think you watch too much _Wind Beneath My Wings_," Shockwave told Starscream.

"Shut up, Shockwave," Starscream replied airily.

"What are we going to do?" asked Megatron. "This is the _last _thing I need."

"People fall in love all the time," Starscream reminded Megatron. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"It's a big deal because sooner or later, Tomato's going to bring his love interest home with him," Megatron explained, "and then the two of them won't be able to think of anything except their stupid relationship, which will render Tomato's battle skills utterly worthless."

"Well, you can't know that for sure," said Shockwave. "For all we know, she doesn't even like him back. Which would be worse?"

"If she rejected him, he would never be happy again." Starscream shook his head sadly. "Spark-break, thy name is femininity!"

"Maybe she'll help out the cause, my liege," Shockwave suggested. "After all, you'd accept any Decepticon who's willing to help us obtain control over Cybertron, correct?"

"I guess…" Megatron said hesitantly. "In that case, I'm going to go straight to his room and ask him just what all this 'love' nonsense is about."

"You're like that character on _Wind Beneath My Wings_, except you don't get nooky nearly as much," Starscream told him. "Don't pry like you do, or he'll just deny everything."

"Since when do I pry?" asked Megatron.

"No, Starscream's right, you don't want to embarrass him," Shockwave agreed. "Don't worry, though…he'll let you meet his new girlfriend soon."

"And our new ally," Megatron added.

**THAT NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

Tomato hadn't seen or heard from Blueberry, but she had probably been busy with school. As she had told him, when she wasn't at school, she was typically studying at home. Science and Technology degrees were very hard to obtain.

Nothing had really been happening that solar cycle, and Tomato was deciding that he should get Blueberry's email address—and give her his, too, of course. That way they could keep in contact all the time, Tomato would never have to sneak out, and if Tomato was worried Megatron would find out he was corresponding with her, he could just delete the messages. Plus, since they had com. links, they could see each others' faces when they talked.

Eventually, after staring at his data pad and wishing he had Blueberry's number, Tomato became rather restless and ran to the kitchen for some fizzy energon. When he got there, he decided he should stop being such a coward and grabbed a cube of dark energon. Without thinking twice, he downed the whole thing in practically one big gulp.

"Oh, yeah, that's the stuff!" he said, just like the character in the TV show.

Unfortunately, Tomato wasn't quite as good at tolerating a whole cube of dark energon at once. Before he knew it he found himself vomiting all over the floor, cursing dark energon and wondering why he'd even tried it.

Unfortunately, that was when Megatron and Blitzwing walked right into the room.

"MY _FLOORS_!" hollered Megatron, lifting Tomato off the floor by his head.

"Hey! Ouch!" said Tomato, waving his servos all around. "Let go!"

"Tomato, why did you drink a whole dark energon cube?!" Megatron demanded furiously, glaring at the empty container on the floor.

"I-I thought I could—" Tomato horked up the rest of the dark energon…right onto Megatron's servo. Megatron dropped Tomato on the ground and growled at the injustice of it all.

"Not easy being zee parent, eez it, Megatron?" Crazy Blitzwing cackled.

"Clean up the floor, Tomato," Megatron told the red 'bot angrily. "I'm going to go wash this off before it taints my finish."

"Umm…Lord Megatron?" Tomato stood up and pointed out the window. "I think we've got bigger problems than your finish right now."

Megatron turned his head in the same direction. "What do you mean, Tomato?"

"_That_'_s _what I mean," said Tomato grimly.

All three of them gasped as they saw…_both _their enemies?! Yes, the Cybertron Elite Guard, accompanied by Team Prime, was standing right outside their base.

"Open up!" hollered Ultra Magnus.

"Yeah, we know you're in there!" added Optimus.

"Decepticons!" Megatron yelled. "Battle stations, go!"

"Oh, come on," said Starscream, who was watching the Seeker channel.

"If I have to," added Blackarachnia, setting her magazine aside.

"Reporting for duty, Lord Megatron!" yelled Shockwave, saluting.

"I live to serve you, oh great and glorious Master!" Lugnut hollered, running toward Megatron. "Oh handsome, noble, brave, wise—"

"Save the flattery for when I'm in another galaxy, Lugnut," Megatron said coldly. "For now, let's go defeat the Autobots!"

As soon as the Decepticons ran outside, they encountered an angry-looking Ironhide, standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"We just wanted to thank you for luring us into that trap, Megatron," he told them sarcastically.

"Indeed, Ironhide, we should not have been surprised when we discovered that you were not going to hand over the AllSpark at all," Ultra Magnus added (he wasn't looking very happy, either).

Tomato looked over at Sentinel Prime, who didn't look in very good shape—he had a cloth tied around his head, stained with raw energon, and his arms and legs were scratched. Tomato asked him, "Are those injuries from when you last battled me?"

"No, he tripped coming down the stairs back at base," Optimus said, with just a touch of a smirk on his face.

"Well, I've got some bigger fish to fry!" Tomato laughed, taking off into the air. By now, he wasn't as scared of flying as he was when he first tried it, and sometimes he actually enjoyed doing it. Since he was now about the same size as Autobot Bumblebee, he decided to go after him first. (Currently, the two of them were the same size, but Tomato wasn't done growing, as opposed to Bumblebee, who was just built small.)

Right now, Bumblebee was stinging Blitzwing, who received a strong electric shock right on the back of his head.

"You will pay for zee stings!" hollered Blitzwing.

"Take this, Autobot!" Tomato called, shooting his handgun at Bumblebee.

Bumblebee turned around, startled, and Tomato used the element of surprise to his advantage. When he felt the force of the bullets, Bumblebee turned around and tried to sting Tomato again.

Meanwhile, Blackarachnia was fighting Sentinel. Tomato didn't know what the two of them had against each other, but apparently they hated each other, very much so.

"Take _that_, Sentinel!" Blackarachnia cried as she tied Sentinel up with strong spider web, then slammed him into a wall.

Ratchet, meanwhile, was trying to bring Starscream down to the ground with his magnets, but Starscream could fly so fast that the magnets didn't affect him. Blitzwing was freezing Blurr, Shockwave was battling Optimus Prime, Lugnut was battling Bulkhead, and Megatron, of course, was caught in a fierce battle with Ultra Magnus.

Tomato was still fighting Bumblebee with an aerial attack, but then he realized that he could be even more victorious if he fought him from the ground, with his sword. Tomato descended to the ground and slashed his sword at Bumblebee, just the way he had slashed at the Ropes. Bumblebee, in turn, shocked Tomato's sword, with the hope that Tomato would get electrocuted.

And, of course, Tomato _would_ have gotten electrocuted—if he had been wearing weak metal armor from Earth, and if his sword had been constructed of steel native to a mudball such as Earth. Tomato's armor, though, was made from the most impenetrable metal on Cybertron, and his sword was made of Cybertron's strongest steel. After all, Tomato was made of metal, just like the sword was. Bumblebee's electricity simply did not have enough voltage.

Using this to his advantage, Tomato slashed again at Bumblebee's armor, leaving a deep gash, though not deep enough to draw energon. Bumblebee shocked the sword again, with Tomato pushing the static back.

The two small 'bots continued to fight, electricity and swordsmanship battling against each other, until finally, Tomato was distracted by something.

It was a familiar yet heavenly voice, coming from right behind him: "Tomato! Over here!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	17. Picnic For Two

"What?" Tomato looked around the place confusedly.

"It's me, Blueberry!"

Tomato turned around, and yes, it was Blueberry. Of course, she now had a brand-new replacement leg, and she looked as good as new. She turned her head and smiled slightly.

"Oh, um, hi, Blueberry," Tomato replied, knowing he was blushing again. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were at school."

"I didn't have school today," Blueberry explained. "And when I found out we were heading out to another battle, I just had to come along…because I knew you'd be there."

"Oh, well, thank you." Tomato smiled on the outside, but on the inside, he felt very nervous. Now was the time when he was to get her contact info. _It_'_s like the Branding Ceremony_, he reminded himself. _It_'_s best to just get the hard part over with_.

"Tomato?" Blueberry waved one servo across Tomato's face. "You okay?"

"I-I, umm…" Tomato couldn't find the right words to say, but he racked his CPU for what he was supposed to be saying…oh yeah! "I was going to ask, Blueberry, do you—do you want to exchange contact info?"

"Sure!" Blueberry told him cheerfully. The two of them used their built-in notepad systems to record email addresses and phone numbers, so that they could enter them into their data pads later. Then, they could communicate.

"So, do you want to call me after the battle is finished and you're back on the Elite Guard ship?" Tomato asked Blueberry.

"Of course," she replied, and then commented, "It's pretty weird seeing our two sides fighting each other, isn't it?"

"And I don't think it's as black-and-white as everybody thinks it is, either," Tomato added. "Both sides have their strengths and weaknesses."

"Absolutely," Blueberry agreed, nodding. "Actually, I'm surprised the others haven't caught onto that yet."

"Maybe someday they will." Tomato shrugged.

Neither of them talked for a little after that, inducing a few terribly awkward moments. Tomato wished he knew the right thing to say right now, but he didn't.

"Quit standing around and fight like a Decepticon!" Tomato suddenly heard someone holler, and before he knew it, Megatron was yanking him back into battle…and back into reality, too. Tomato and Blueberry waved goodbye to each other, while Megatron continued, "We're outnumbered, Tomato, and we have to fight as hard as we can!"

"Yes, my liege!" Tomato managed to snap successfully back into warrior mode. Swiftly, he began to resume his fight with Bumblebee, when Ultra Magnus got a call from the Elite Guard ship. It was Perceptor, the Elite Guard's head scientist.

"Ultra Magnus, sir!" Perceptor cried urgently. "Mutation in the science lab gone wild! We need all hands on deck!"

Tomato looked over at Blueberry when she heard Perceptor say the words "mutation in the science lab", and he could tell that she was just brimming with excitement.

Ultra Magnus called out, "This battle is over, Autobots! We must get back to the science lab, _pronto_!"

Not long after, the Elite Guard members were on their way home. As soon as they were gone, all the Decepticons cheered. Sure, they had only won by default, but they had still won.

…

After the battle, Tomato went to his room to wait for Blueberry and her call, and after a bit (though it seemed like megacycles), his com. link rang. He answered, and there was a projection of Blueberry's smiling face.

"So…what was up with that mutation?" Tomato asked her, partly because he was curious, and partly because he knew she would want to tell him about it.

"Oh, it was great!" she told him happily. "I was able to hone my scientist skills when I helped Percy get rid of it!"

"Percy?"

"Yeah, that's what we call our head scientist, Perceptor," Blueberry explained, giggling. "I don't think he likes it, but we do it anyway."

"Okay…" Tomato shrugged and smiled.

"Anyway, I was thinking, Tomato, what do you think of getting together again tonight?" asked Blueberry. "I have a special surprise planned."

"Oh, um, that'd be great, Blueberry," Tomato told her. "What's your surprise?"

"Well, I can't tell you, because then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Blueberry replied, grinning.

**LATER THAT NIGHT…**

Just like last time, Tomato carefully snuck out of the _Nemesis _when everybody else was sleeping and walked over to the Elite Guard's ship. Just like last time, he brought a barrel of oil for Blueberry, because he knew she would love it.

This time around, he wasn't as nervous; after all, he had snuck out to see her before, and everything went fine then, didn't it? They had gotten to know each other better, which was a very important thing if they were ever to have a relationship.

When Tomato arrived at the Elite Guard ship, Blueberry came outside. She was carrying a picnic basket and a blanket.

"We're going to have a picnic?" asked Tomato. This _was _a surprise.

"Not just a picnic," Blueberry told him happily. "It's a candlelit picnic for two."

Tomato smiled and shyly took her servo in his, and she led him to a nice, quiet spot on the ground. He spread the picnic blanket, while she emptied out the basket's contents. Inside there was energon and oil. Tomato was glad he'd brought along Decepticon oil, because he couldn't stand Autobot oil.

"So…what's this picnic for?" Tomato asked her, as he opened a cube of energon and took a big sip.

"Oh, I just thought it would be nice," Blueberry replied gently, lighting a candle and placing it in between the two of them.

After drinking some more energon, Tomato said, "This picnic is really nice, Blueberry."

"You know, Tomato, it's strange," Blueberry said, smiling, then her expression turned more serious. "I didn't think very highly of Decepticons…until I met you."

Tomato almost choked on his energon, but tried to resume his cool as soon as possible. He gave her a smile and finished off his energon. As soon as he finished it, he reached for another cube, just as she finished her Autobot oil and reached for another barrel at the same time—and their servos met.

Even though Tomato was extremely embarrassed and preparing to yank his servo back, Blueberry shook her head and placed her servo right on top of this, staring directly into his optics. Tomato had no idea if she wanted him to kiss her, or to talk, or to just drink his energon while they held hands, or who knows what else.

"It's okay, Tomato," she reassured him gently.

Tomato felt his spark beating quickly again as they looked into each other's optics. Again, if Blueberry was nervous, she certainly wasn't showing it.

_I should kiss her_, Tomato was telling himself. _She wants me to kiss her_, _I know it_.

Taking a deep breath in, Tomato leaned in toward Blueberry's face, wanting to kiss her but still so scared. _I_'_m going to kiss her on her lips_, he kept on telling himself. _I_'_ve got to kiss her on her lips_!

Before he knew it, though, he had lost his courage, and gave her a warm hug instead. After they had parted, he put his head down, then lifted it up slowly. She was smiling.

"Blueberry, I know we've only known each other for a few solar cycles," he told her. "I-I feel so happy around you, though. Like we, you know, should—should be together. I mean, like, not _together_-together, I mean, if you don't want to, or, what I mean is—"

"I know what you mean, Tomato," Blueberry whispered softly, and drew his faceplates closer to hers again. She closed her optics and planted a quick kiss on his forehead, then they hugged each other again.

"Thanks, Blueberry." Tomato smiled gratefully.

"No problem." Blueberry stood up. "Well, I guess we should be getting home now."

Tomato nodded, then he stood up too. "Should we go to my place first and then you go off to the Elite Guard ship, like last time?"

"Yes, definitely," Blueberry replied, and reached for his servo. Shocked but happy, Tomato gave it a squeeze, she squeezed back, and they walked back to the _Nemesis_, together.

…

It wasn't long before Tomato and Blueberry reached the _Nemesis_. Their servos separated and they stood facing each other, right in front of the entrance.

"Thank you for our night, Blueberry," said Tomato, brushing one servo gently across Blueberry's faceplates.

"Oh, no, thank _you_," she replied, taking his servos in hers. "I had a great time."

"So did I," Tomato told her. "I love picnics…and I learned that they're even better when they're with you."

Blueberry turned her head and smiled slightly, but didn't say a word. Tomato found himself smiling, too, and this time he knew he was going to kiss her—on the lips, too. There was only an inch of space between their lips…less than an inch…

"TOMATO! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"

That voice did _not _sound like Blueberry's. Tomato quickly yanked his lips away from hers and spun around.

It was Megatron.

Standing right behind them.

Before Tomato knew it, he felt Megatron's painful grip on his shoulder, and within moments, Megatron was yelling at him, worse than ever before.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" Megatron hollered. "WHEN YOUR SUPERIOR ASKES YOU SOMETHING, YOU ANSWER HIM!"

"Umm…I don't know," Tomato said nervously.

"Be on your way!" Megatron told Blueberry sharply; she quickly transformed into a dark-blue compact car and sped away. Megatron picked Tomato up by his head again.

"Please, Lord Megatron, I can explain!" Tomato cried fearfully.

"I'm sure you can," Megatron told him, his voice low and signaling danger yet to come. He was still clinging to Tomato's head and letting him dangle above the ground.

"I-I was…umm…" Tomato couldn't think of a word to say.

"YOU WERE SNEAKING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND COMMITING TREASON IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING!" Megatron bellowed, letting go of Tomato's head and letting him land hard on the ground.

"No, really, my liege, I-I wasn't!" Tomato insisted nervously.

"Then what _were _you doing?"

"Umm…I-I don't know?" Tomato offered quietly, and upon seeing Megatron's reaction, he knew he was in trouble.

"I could expect treason from someone like Starscream, but I expect more from you, Tomato!" Megatron yelled at Tomato, who was still on the ground. "There is no excuse for this!"

"Please, sir, I—"

"So _that_'_s _who you've been seeing!" Tomato could practically see the steam shooting out of his leader's ears; he had never seen him this mad before. "Not only are you sneaking out at night, but you're seeing an Autobot! Dear Primus, have I taught you _nothing_? Did you really think you could get away with this?! Collaborating with an Autobot?! Have you blown a diode?!"

"Lord Megatron, if you would only let me—"

"Hand over your com. link!" Megatron shouted. "And give me your data pad too! You are to stay in your room, without them, until further notice!"

"Please, don't take them away!" Tomato knew he couldn't communicate with Blueberry without these things. "If you would just—"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Megatron roared, harshly pulling Tomato up off the ground and standing him up. "AND I AM _NEVER _TO CATCH YOU SNEAKING OUT AGAIN, EVER! _IS THAT CLEAR_?!"

"Crystal, sir," Tomato whimpered, saluting, and bolted off to his room.


	18. Ashamed of Myself

**THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

"I think what you did was probably for the better, my Lord," Shockwave was telling Megatron. The two of them were discussing last night, when Tomato had been caught. Megatron was sitting in his chair, with Shockwave next to him. Megatron hadn't seen Tomato since last night, but that was most likely because Megatron had instructed Tomato not to come out of his room unless he was told to.

"Hmm…I thought so, too," Megatron agreed. "Honestly, can you believe his girlfriend was an _Autobot_?"

"Well, she was probably just trying to get classified information out of him," Shockwave told his leader. "For all we know, she could be some kind of spy."

"I can't believe Tomato collaborated with a spy," Megatron said. "Mutiny!"

"Well, it's not entirely his fault," Shockwave reminded him. "Femmes have this weird way of getting mechs to do whatever they want them to. Blackarachnia does it to Optimus Prime, and he always falls for her tricks."

Megatron shrugged. "I still think he should have known better."

Shockwave nodded in agreement, Megatron sighed, and that's when they saw Starscream walking into the room, looking pretty angry.

"What is it now, Starscream?" said Megatron. "As if I really cared."

"Oh, no, I already know you don't care," Starscream replied scathingly. "I hope you're happy now."

"What are you talking about?" Megatron asked.

"Do you know where I found Tomato today?" Starscream said, sounding even angrier as he approached Megatron and Starscream. "Crying on his bed, unable to stop. As far as I know, he's been doing it all last night and all this morning, too."

"That's because I _told _him to stay in there," Megatron told Starscream. "Last night he snuck out to see his girlfriend, who is an _Autobot_."

"For one thing, she's not his girlfriend," Starscream said back. "I came into his room earlier this solar cycle, and he told me everything…he said he doubts she likes him back at all and that now that he'd been caught, she would never want to see him again."

"Tomato was committing treason by telling someone from the opposite side all our top-secret information," Megatron insisted.

"Or _maybe _they were just going on the date to get to know each other better and hadn't discussed the war at all!" Starscream shouted. "For your information, he told me the two of them wished that we weren't a split race, and that they just wanted the war to be over."

"Like that'll ever happen," Megatron said, very sarcastically. "Besides, he was still collaborating with the Autobots. I thought he was more loyal than that. It's probably the likes of you who were giving him such a bad influence."

"How could you even _say _that?" Starscream yelled. "If it weren't for Lugnut, he would be the most loyal Decepticon of them all! He looks up to you, he wants to be like you, you're just as much his father figure as you've always been!"

"I suggest you get back to your post, Starscream!" Megatron hollered, bolting upright, but Starscream wasn't listening to him any more.

"And I suppose you're wondering what upset him the most?!" Starscream continued.

"What's that, _dare _I ask?"

"It wasn't just Blueberry, it was the fact that he disappointed _you_! Not only did you break his spark by humiliating him in front of Blueberry and scaring her off, but he's blaming _himself_ for not living up to _your_ standards! What does _that _say about his loyalty? How could you possibly have done all this to him?" Starscream stood in front of Megatron and screamed right in his leader's face, "_YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF_!"

Before Megatron could say anything, Starscream turned his back and stormed away, looking furious on Tomato's behalf. Megatron and Shockwave stared at each other. Starscream was known for being defiant, but this had just been shocking. Megatron sat down again and put his head in his hands. Flashbacks of him and Tomato were running through his CPU. What was he to do _now_?

"Maybe you _were _a little hard on him, my liege," Shockwave said gently, setting one servo on Megatron's shoulder.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Shockwave," Megatron told his second-in-command miserably. "When I first adopted Tomato, I thought I could make him into a warrior. I should have thought about the other responsibilities that would come with it…I know I'm supposed to know everything, but raising a sparkling isn't similar at all to running a war. It's a lot harder, that's all I know."

Shockwave shook his head and sighed. "There's only one thing you _can _do, my liege, and you know what it is."

"No, I know," Megatron groaned, leaning back in his chair. "I need to apologize now, don't I?"

"I'm afraid so, my liege," Shockwave replied solemnly. "If you are sincerely sorry, it won't be hard."

Megatron nodded at Shockwave and got up from his chair. Feeling apprehensive, he walked all the way to Tomato's room. When he put one servo on the doorknob, he found himself hesitating. Could he do this? It was the right thing to do, he knew, but what if Tomato didn't want the apology? What if it just caused a big fight again?

_It doesn_'_t matter_, Megatron told himself sternly._ You need to be a good parent and apologize to Tomato right now_.

Megatron knocked on the door quietly and then opened it. Inside was Tomato, lying on the bed, weeping bitterly, just as Starscream had described. Megatron almost forgot about last night and felt bad for the red 'bot.

Tomato heard the door opening and lifted his head, but when he saw who it was, he buried his face in his pillow again and said, "Go away."

Instead of going away, Megatron sat down on the edge of Tomato's bed and sighed. "Tomato, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" asked Tomato, trying to wipe his tears, but they just fell even faster. "Why are you even here, anyway?"

"I just wanted to say—"

"You wanted to say what? That you're ashamed I'm your son? That I'm a traitor to the cause? That I'm a horrible, pathetic excuse for a Decepticon and you never want to see me again? You might as well save your breath, because I already know you're thinking it."

"No, I didn't mean to say any of those things," Megatron insisted, putting one servo on Tomato's shoulder, but Tomato just shook it off.

"Please, just go away," he repeated, and started sobbing again.

"Listen, Tomato." Megatron pulled Tomato up by his head but this time tried to be gentle about it. "I'm not angry with you any more. I know you didn't mean any harm."

"I didn't mean to do it," Tomato sniffed. "I just love Blueberry so much and I wanted to see her again, but I snuck out at night because I knew you wouldn't want me on your team any more if you found out that I was collaborating with an Autobot…and I guess I was right."

"No, no, that's not it at all," Megatron insisted. "Mothers and fathers are supposed to care about their children no matter what. I still think you're a great Decepticon. And I know you weren't giving away any classified information."

"Of course not," Tomato said weakly, leaning against Megatron's chestplate. "We just talk about normal things, like her school and what we like to do for fun and all that. She's attending University of Crystal City to get a degree in Science and Technology."

"So, you know evil Decepticon leaders don't really make apologies often, but I've been thinking, and…" Megatron sighed. "And now I know I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. Hence, I apologize."

"Apology accepted," said Tomato, wiping tears. "Thank you."

"Come on," Megatron replied, taking Tomato's servo. "Let's go get you some fizzy energon, yes?"

"All right." Megatron was relieved to see Tomato smiling again.

Back in the main monitor room, Starscream was watching _Wind Beneath My Wings _again. When he saw Megatron, at first he glared, but then he saw Tomato, and he looked confused. "I thought Megatron was mad at you, Tomato."

"Oh, he was," Tomato replied. "Not any more, though."

"So you listened to me, then, didn't you, Megatron?" Starscream smirked.

"It's very painful for me to admit this, but, yes, I decided you were actually right," Megatron told Starscream uncomfortably. "It doesn't matter, though. The point is that Tomato and I aren't angry with each other any more."

"Does Blueberry still want to hang around with you?" Starscream asked Tomato, then explained to Megatron, "Blueberry is the Autobot femme he's in love with."

"I wish Blueberry wanted to be my girlfriend, like I want," Tomato replied sadly, "but she seems to think we're just friends."

"Well, all you have to do is ask her out," Starscream replied.

"I can't." Tomato shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll say something stupid and she'll just think I'm a glitch-head. Or, even worse, when I ask her out I'll get a 'no'."

"Tomato, that doesn't make any sense," said Megatron, who wasn't exactly an expert on relationships. "You can cross a rotating platform covered with spikes suspended over a pit of boiling dark energon, and yet you can't ask a femme to go on a date with you."

"Well, actually, that's quite common," Starscream told him, shrugging. "It's just that _I _don't have any problems with it."

Megatron rolled his optics and Tomato looked depressed. "This is harder than all the challenges on my obstacle course _combined_."

"You are silly, zee solution is obvious," the three of them heard an unmistakable voice say. When they turned around, they saw that it was none other than Icy Blitzwing, who had apparently been eavesdropping on them.

"Do you mind?!" said Starscream hotly.

"What do you mean, the solution is obvious?" asked Tomato curiously. "What _is _the solution?"

Blitzwing's face turned to Crazy, and he screeched, "Why, a party, of course!"

"Did you say a _party_?" Megatron, Starscream and Tomato all said at the same time.

"We can go to a club in Iacon, in zee city," Blitzwing explained. "Come one, come all!"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Starscream told Blitzwing, looking shocked but excited. "Clubs are the _best_ places for hitting on femmes!"

"And I _have _always been curious about what goes on in clubs," Tomato added. "It could be fun."

"Of course," Starscream told him. "I could be your wingman—you know, the one who helps you get your date."

"Hey, zat eez my job!" Hothead Blitzwing said angrily.

"Yeah, to _me_," Starscream replied airily. "Not to Tomato."

"Are you coming to the party, Lord Megatron?" Tomato asked.

"I suppose." Megatron shrugged.

"In fact, why don't all the Decepticons come?" Starscream suggested. "We would be going to a Decepticons-only club, though, so I suppose Blueberry will have to disguise herself."

"Blueberry has a dark-blue paint job, so if you put a fake Decepticon sticker on her chestplate, nobody will be able to tell the difference," Tomato agreed, nodding. "It will be easy."

"You can invite Blueberry," Megatron told Tomato. "I'll give you your communication equipment back soon, all right?"

"All right." Tomato smiled.

"Then who's ready to party?!" Crazy Blitzwing screeched, and everyone cheered.


	19. You Are My Everything

**LATER THAT SOLAR CYCLE…**

"Sounds kind of dangerous," Blueberry was telling Tomato over her com. link. "I mean…I've never even been in an Autobots-only club. Besides, I don't think Megatron likes me very much."

"It was all a misunderstanding," Tomato explained quickly. "I guess it was just shocking for him to find an Autobot at his ship…and he was mad that I was leaving without asking permission, anyway. By now he's calmed down a bit."

"Maybe he understands that it's not fair to unconventionally despise everyone from the other side," Blueberry added. "It could be just me, but I believe that before you decide if you like someone or not, you should get to know them first."

"You might be surprised." Tomato winked and smiled.

"Like I told you before, though, my father's an Elite Guard trooper, and he'd shoot your spark out if he knew I was hanging around with you," Blueberry said, shaking her head sadly.

"That's why the party _has _to be secret," Tomato insisted. "I know you don't have a Decepticon insignia branded onto you like I do, but if you come to our base the night of the party, you could take off your Autobot sticker for a moment, and we'd give you a temporary Decepticon sticker for the party. Decepticons are dark-colored, but you have a dark-blue paint job already, so that won't be a problem."

"Don't they card you, though?" Blueberry asked.

"You can just forge an ID," Tomato replied.

"Tomato, you are _such_ a bad influence." Blueberry giggled. "Of course I'll come."

**THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY…**

Everyone was excited. They would get a whole night of femme hunting, flirting, wild dancing, dark and fizzy energon, freedom to shoot dangerous weapons, and (for Tomato) an opportunity to ask out a perfect femme.

Tomato felt very strange, really nervous but really excited at the same time. At the Autobot clubs, even though it was illegal to disarm the bar's patrons, testing out your weapons was not exactly smiled upon. On the other hand, Decepticons liked to shoot their weapons as they pleased, as long as they didn't destroy anything really valuable.

Right before the party, Tomato had been polishing off his finish, to look shiny and new for his date. Crazy Blitzwing kept on dancing all over the place. Everyone knew that was his favorite thing about clubs—he was the best Decepticon dancer, and probably the best dancer of both sides. Starscream went with him to clubs mostly to pick up femmes, which he was amazingly good at. Those two went to clubs all the time, so they got to pick the best one to have the party at.

All of the Decepticons waited for Blueberry to show up. Finally, she did. She looked different; she had on a special kind of optic lens to change her eye color from light blue to dark red, and she had on black lip stain. She had painted her normally silver servos black, and even though her feet typically looked like blue, knee-high, high-heeled boots (similar to the color of her body), they were now black too. The rest of her body was the same dark-blue as always. She was holding her fake Decepticon ID in one black servo, and she had taken her Autobot sticker off her chest.

"Wow," Tomato marveled, approaching her. "I don't think the bouncer is even going to bother carding you."

"Thank you." Blueberry giggled. "Actually, putting this look together was pretty fun."

"Now for the finishing touch," said Starscream, walking up to her and handing her a fake Decepticon sticker they had made. "Try it on for size."

Blueberry slapped the Decepticon sticker on her chest, and the look was complete. If Tomato and the other Decepticons hadn't known she was an Autobot, they would never have believed it.

"Well, let's get going," Blueberry purred, sounding sort of like Blackarachnia. "I came here to party!"

_This is just yummy_, Tomato was thinking, but then he realized he was staring at Blueberry, and everyone else was staring at him, so he shut his drooling mouth and left for the club.

…

Starscream and Blitzwing went to clubs in Iacon all the time, so they knew the right club to go to. They knew they were at the right place when they found a club called _Maximum Fireblast_.

"We score at this place all the time," Starscream told everyone, as they all turned back into robot mode. (Blueberry had been driving as a compact car, as usual, but nobody had noticed, seeing as she was a dark color and it was dark out.)

Megatron opened the door and they saw the inside of _Maximum Fireblast_. The building was vibrating with the loud metal music, and there was a disco ball and multicolored strobe lights. The club's patrons were dancing, flirting, drinking, firing their weapons…there was even a live band performing, the throbbing speakers almost reaching the ceiling.

"TIME TO DANCE!" screeched Blitzwing, running into the middle of the crowd to show off his moves—after all, he was one hell of a dancer.

"Blitzwing, same as always," the bouncer said, shaking his head. "And I see we have Megatron and Starscream here too…fine…Blackarachnia…looking especially fine…Lugnut…um, okay…who are these two?"

"My name is Tomato, and I'm a Decepticon warrior," Tomato told the bouncer, trying to sound as confident and threatening as he could.

"And I'm his girl, Blueberry," Blueberry added in her Blackarachnia voice, sauntering further into the room and standing next to Tomato. Tomato choked on his own breath after hearing her say that she was "his girl", but then he decided she was probably just trying to sound more alluring.

"Well, you two, could I please see some ID?" asked the bouncer.

"Sure, I've got mine." Tomato handed his to the bouncer, who nodded and handed it back.

"Oh, now, where did I put mine…?" Blueberry bent down on the ground, pretending to search for her ID. Then she snapped up quickly, and smiled. "Oh, here, I found it!"

"Um, thank you, ma'am," said the bouncer, looking kind of shocked, as Blueberry shot him a flirty smile and walked into the bar.

"Nice," Tomato whispered.

"It's all in the bend-and-snap," she whispered back, giggling.

They looked over at Starscream, who was standing with another femme they'd never met before. Starscream and the femme both had champagne glasses filled with dark energon in their servos, and they were flirting with each other.

Starscream leaned seductively on the counter of the bar and took a long swig of dark energon. "Ma'am, when I saw that shiny gold paint job, I thought I'd found a little treasure right here in the _Maximum Fireblast_."

"You are quite the charmer, Starscream!" the femme giggled. "I always thought Seekers were hot."

"Well, these wings aren't just for flying, sweetheart," Starscream said back, edging up by her a little suggestively.

"You know, Starscream, if I lived on the _Nemesis_, I would totally pick you as the leader!" the femme told Starscream happily.

"And I think I'd pick _you _as my second-in-command," Starscream replied, voice lower than usual.

"Oh, come _here_, you sexy beast!" the femme cried, throwing her drink aside, and she and Starscream proceeded to furiously make out.

_Wow_, Tomato thought. _I guess Starscream wasn_'_t kidding about femme hunting_.

Meanwhile, Blitzwing was in the middle of a mosh pit, holding a half-empty cube of fizzy energon in one servo. (Tomato guessed it wasn't his first shot.) One of the dancers lifted him up to crowd-surf, and he screeched with delight as the heavy metal guitarist on the stage began a sweet guitar riff.

Megatron was, of course, one of the club patrons who were practicing weapon shooting. Nobody really cared, because there was never any real damage, and everyone liked to see the different kinds of weapons that the club-goers had and discover what they could do. Lugnut just did whatever Megatron did, so he was watching the shootings.

Blackarachnia was flirting with someone, just like Starscream. Just like always, she was just acting very flirtatious, touching him and whispering things to him under her breath, and the mech looked like he was in some kind of trance. Tomato saw Blueberry roll her optics at them.

Tomato looked around at all the club patrons. So many of them seemed to be either hitting on someone, being hit on, or already in a serious relationship. Tomato realized that he was none of these things. Blueberry was smiling, looking excited at everything that was going on. Tomato liked the club, too, but he couldn't forget the real reason he had come here.

Just then, he felt someone tap him on the back, and it was Starscream. Tomato turned around. "Yes?"

"Excuse us for a cycle, please," Starscream told Blueberry nicely, then pulled Tomato aside and whispered, "Do you still want me to be your wingman?"

"Of course," Tomato told him emphatically, remembering how easily Starscream had gotten that femme to make out with him.

"Well, then, all you need to do is ask her to dance with you," Starscream replied, pointing over at the dancers.

"I-I don't think…I mean, that would—that would be too embarrassing," said Tomato.

"No it wouldn't," Starscream insisted. "Half the club-goers who are hooking up don't even know each others' names. They probably have very liberal amounts of dark energon in their tubes by now, yes, but…"

"I can't even drink dark energon without throwing up," Tomato said sadly. "And maybe Blueberry likes me as a friend, but come on…she's so pretty and smart and confident that she would never want a mech like me. For all I know, she already is going out with some Autobot mech she just has never told me about."

"Maybe she DOESN'T," Starscream said back. "Just ask her to dance with you, and—"

"Of course," Tomato muttered, as a slow song came on.

"Now's your chance," Starscream whispered, and shoved Tomato in Blueberry's direction. "Go!"

Starscream was looking for a femme to dance with, and, as usual, he didn't seem to have much trouble. After a short period of time, he managed to locate the femme he had been making out with earlier and held out one servo to her with his most alluring grin on his face. She giggled and quickly accepted his offer.

Tomato's spark was beating faster than ever, but then he looked over at Blueberry, and he knew this would be one of the most important things he would ever do—and that he wasn't a coward. He would show her how he felt if it was the last thing he did.

After taking a deep breath, Tomato tapped Blueberry on the shoulder, and when she turned around, he held his servo out to her shyly and asked, "Would you—would you like to dance?"

"Why, yes," she said, looking a little surprised but happy all the same. "Thank you, Tomato."

Blueberry looked into Tomato's optics and gave him a sweet smile. The song was so beautiful, and, for whatever reason, that Decepticon getup of hers was really turning him on.

Before he knew it, he had taken her into his arms. He didn't know where to put his servos or whether or not to look at her or even which dance he should do, but he was relieved when she gently reached for his servo. Her optics were closed.

Tomato grasped her servo and wrapped the other one around her waist. She put her other servo on his shoulder and leaned her head on his chest. Before he lost his courage, he gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. She smiled, and he knew she was enjoying the dance, just like he was.

"Blueberry?" he whispered.

"Yes?" she whispered back. Her voice was barely audible.

"You are my everything," he whispered, lost in the beautiful song's magic. "I love being around you more than anyone I've ever known."

"What are you trying to say, Tomato?" Blueberry asked, opening her shining optics and looking up at him. There was a comforting smile on her lips and Tomato felt himself losing balance, giving himself to the beauty of this moment.

"I'm trying to say that…" For some reason it wasn't hard this time. "I love you, Blueberry."

For a moment he cringed, wondering if he would get shot down—but instead her smile grew wider, her optics lit up, and she told him, "Well, as a scientist like me would say, I think we have great chemistry too."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	20. Day of Surprises

**THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

It was afternoon. Everybody except Lugnut had been able to drag their hung-over selves out of bed for some oil, though it hadn't been easy. Tomato was the only one who wasn't affected by the dark energon at the club—he had been spared from this because he hadn't been intoxicated with anything last night, but the other Decepticons were not so fortunate.

"Why did I let you talk me into going to that club, Blitzwing?" Megatron groaned, leaning back into his chair and shading his optics.

"I do not even remember what _happened _last night," Blitzwing told his leader, sounding just as miserable.

"Well, my CPU was aching quite a bit this morning," Starscream complained.

"And I think I've thrown up all the dark energon I consumed last night," Blackarachnia added.

"I'm glad I didn't drink as much as you guys did, but I still feel a tad sick this morning," Shockwave informed the others. (Usually, Shockwave didn't drink excessively, but he did drink a lot on special occasions such as parties.)

"Where's Lugnut?" asked Megatron.

"Lugnut eez still sleeping," Blitzwing replied. "Ve should not wake him."

"Wow, you guys sure are hung over," Tomato marveled. "I guess that's why they call dark energon 'the very blood of Unicron'."

"Well, it tastes good, though," Megatron informed him. "I can totally handle it."

"And, it's a great way to lower a femme's resistance," Starscream added, smirking. Tomato couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I'm sure I could get them into bed with me anyway, though."

"Enough!" yelled Megatron.

"Looks like somebody's jealous…" Starscream whispered teasingly.

"So, um, not to change the subject or anything, but did you guys know that I confessed my love to Blueberry last night?" Tomato randomly blurted out.

"I knew you could do it," Starscream said approvingly. "So…does she love you back, then?"

"Yes, she does, so I was wondering if we could have her around for lunch tomorrow." Tomato smiled and looked around the room, hoping Blueberry could come to the ship.

"Well, I…" Megatron looked pensive. "I guess so."

"Great!" Tomato shouted happily. "This is going to be fun!"

**LUNCHTIME THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

All of the Decepticons were finishing setting up lunch (with an extra place for Blueberry, of course) when they heard knocking on their door. They looked outside the window, and it was Blueberry. Now, she had her Autobot look back, even though Tomato secretly had liked her Decepticon disguise very much.

"Hello, everyone," said Blueberry as she walked into the room, carrying a cube of energon. "I brought this energon for you all, as a gift."

"Thank you," Tomato replied, taking it and setting it on the table.

Megatron, Shockwave, Lugnut, Tomato and Blueberry were all in the room and sat down at the table. Blackarachnia, Blitzwing and Starscream hadn't shown up yet.

"So, what would you like to drink, Blueberry?" asked Tomato shyly. Now, he could feel the energy between Blueberry and himself, especially because he knew she loved him back, but ever since he'd confessed his love to her the other night, he felt that it was far too embarrassing to talk about their "relationship".

"I'd like oil, medium-grade, please," Blueberry replied politely, so Tomato got her some, getting some fizzy energon for himself, too. Then he sat down next to Blueberry and gave her the oil she had asked for, avoiding her optics as she drank it.

It wasn't too long before Starscream, Blackarachnia and Blitzwing finally decided to eat some lunch, but as soon as the three of them walked in, it was clear that something was wrong. Blackarachnia looked angry, Starscream looked annoyed, and Blitzwing looked shocked.

"What kept you three, dare I ask?" Megatron glared at them and crossed his arms.

"Blitzwing and Blackarachnia were going to the Decepticon hospital in Iacon for some processor ache painkillers, and I went with them." Starscream sighed and gestured to Blitzwing. "We found out that _this_ glitch-head has fathered Blackarachnia's new sparkling."

Tomato spit out his drink; Blueberry and Shockwave gasped; Megatron growled and slapped himself in the forehead; Lugnut just looked confused.

"H-How is that possible?" asked Tomato, feeling shocked.

"We both had a lot of energon in our systems," Blackarachnia told him. "I had dark energon, he had WAY too much fizzy energon, as usual."

"And now we've got a wonderful little bundle of joy!" Crazy Blitzwing giggled, to which he received a slap from Blackarachnia.

"I wish you guys would do what I do and just carry some robot condoms everywhere," Starscream told them. "You'll notice that I've never fathered a child by accident."

"Yes, well, I guess we just didn't want to wait," said Blackarachnia. "Primus knows why my intoxicated self wanted to 'face with this idiot, though."

"Hmm, a sparkling," said Tomato. "How soon will it get here?"

"Seven to nine lunar cycles," Starscream replied. "I'm sure they'll love their new sparkling."

"I'm pretty sure the last sparkling on the Elite Guard was me," Blueberry commented. "I think it might be fun to sparkling-sit."

"And you have to sparkling-proof the base," Shockwave added. "Don't leave anything dangerous lying out."

"Well, I'm not taking care of it," Megatron told them. "I have more important things to worry about."

"Now, that's not very nice, is it, Megatron?" Blueberry said politely. "Doesn't this sparkling belong to everyone here? Besides, a sparkling is always a good thing."

"You want one yourself?" asked Starscream.

"Well, maybe when I grow up, but I want to finish school first," Blueberry replied. "I don't know if you guys know it, but my goal is to get a degree in Science and Technology at University of Crystal City and become a scientist for the Elite Guard."

"That's quite a goal," said Icy Blitzwing, looking impressed.

"I know she can do it, though." Tomato smiled at Blueberry, and she smiled back.

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

Blueberry had school that morning, so Tomato was lonely. However, she did promise she'd come over later, so at least he had something to look forward to. Right now, he was on the couch, watching _Wind Beneath My Wings _with Starscream (believe it or not, the show was kind of growing on him).

This time on screen, the femme (who turned out to be the main character of the show) was with a very handsome mech, but he didn't seem to be very happy with her.

"All you ever care about is yourself!" the mech was yelling.

"That's not true!" she cried.

"Yes it is!" he said back. "No wonder nobody wants to marry you! Every mech you're with gets fooled by you, and then you just leave him on his own!"

"That's _his _problem, then, not mine!" she told him. "Why on Earth can't you see?"

"Oh, I see, all right!" he replied angrily. "I see that you're not worth my time, woman!"

"No, don't go!" she called after him desperately, but he was already gone. Starscream and Tomato's mouths were both open in shock.

"Wow, I can't _wait _to see next week's episode!" Tomato cried. "I wonder if they'll make up."

Starscream shrugged. "Really, you never know with her."

Just then, Tomato's com. link rang. He answered, and it was Blueberry.

"Hi, Tomato," she said, smiling brightly. "School's over, and I'm on my way to the _Nemesis_. I'll be there in about ten cycles, okay?"

"Okay," Tomato replied, and he stood by the air lock, waiting for her to arrive. Finally, she did, after ten cycles. Tomato ran right out to greet her.

"Good afternoon, Tomato," Blueberry said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Tomato smiled and showed her inside.

"What were you watching?" Blueberry asked, looking at the TV.

"We were watching _Wind Beneath My Wings_," Tomato explained. "It's this show on the Seeker channel. Starscream introduced me to it, and it actually turned out to be pretty good."

Blueberry nodded, then sank down on the couch. "For Spark's sake, that was a rough day at school."

"Really?" Tomato asked curiously. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing, we're just studying for this huge midterm coming up," Blueberry explained. "It's pretty stressful."

"Don't worry." Tomato smiled and held her close. "You can cuddle up with me."

Ever since the time at the club, Tomato figured Blueberry was at least sort of his girlfriend. Now he knew they had _something_, at least…especially because she didn't try to pull away when he reached for her. Instead, she just leaned into him, seeking comfort.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Has…has everything else been going fine?" Tomato asked. "You know, because you look like more than one thing is going on."

"Oh, no," she replied. "Everything else is fine."

"I can tell there's something else going on." Tomato looked at Blueberry closely. "Something that doesn't have anything to do with your school."

"Really, it's nothing," Blueberry insisted. "I didn't—I mean—there's just—"

And before Tomato knew it, Blueberry was sobbing into his shoulder hysterically.

"Wha…?" Tomato had no idea what she was crying about.

"Oh, you're right, Tomato!" she cried. "Something _is _terribly wrong! And I don't know what to do about it!"

"Terribly wrong?" Tomato was hoping he wouldn't have a full-blown panic attack. "What are you _talking _about?!"

"It's—it's my father," Blueberry explained, tears in her blue optics. "You see, he's an Elite Guard trooper, and he's found this trainee who works under him named Carjack."

"Umm…okay?" Tomato didn't know where exactly this was heading.

"I know Carjack is really just a son-of-a-glitch, but he always acts respectful in front of my parents, so they think he's a great mech," Blueberry replied sadly.

Tomato shrugged. "So?"

"_So_, they want me to marry him!" Blueberry wailed. "I don't want to marry Carjack! That would be a nightmare!"

Tomato didn't know what to think of this. If Blueberry did what her father wished, she would be Carjack's bride, and Tomato would never have a serious relationship with her. And, like she said, Carjack was _not _a good 'bot. That meant she probably wouldn't be happy in that relationship, either.

"We have to stop them," Tomato whispered, stroking Blueberry's head.

"I could never marry Carjack," Blueberry told him sadly. "You wouldn't believe him…he's almost as bad as Sentinel Prime."

"What does he do?"

"Like I said, he's respectful in front of my parents, but when it's just me and him, he acts like his true, horrible self," she replied. "Mostly he'll verbally abuse me…but every so often I'll find myself shoved into a wall or onto the ground when I don't do exactly what he says. Plus, he doesn't think I should be a scientist, because he says femmes should only become things like nurses and mothers and all that."

Tomato stood up angrily. "Well, I think I'll go over to that jerk and give him a taste of his own medicine!"

"No, don't!" Blueberry warned him, pulling him back onto the couch. "I don't want Carjack to hurt you. You know, he's very violent…_and_ he's training to be an Elite Guard trooper."

Tomato lifted up his arm and pointed to the gun with his other arm. "Do you know what this is?"

"Your gun," Blueberry replied.

"Yes, and it's very powerful, too," Tomato told her. "I've got a sharp, lethal sword, too, and I can fight with my fists. Plus, I can fly, which I doubt Carjack can. There's no way he could beat me in a battle. I was trained by Megatron, remember?"

"Well…I guess so," Blueberry said reluctantly. "But still, you should only fight him for self-defense, all right?"

"All right," Tomato agreed, giving her a hug. By the time she left, she looked a little happier.

The same couldn't be said for Tomato, unfortunately. All night he couldn't get a cycle of recharge…he kept on thinking about how Blueberry could be hurt by Carjack. If Carjack was really Blueberry's boyfriend, he would protect her, not hurt her.

And if Tomato was Blueberry's boyfriend, he couldn't let her get hurt.

By anyone or anything.

"I'm going to get that Carjack, whether she wants it or not," Tomato whispered to himself, turning over in bed. "I just need to figure out how."


	21. First Encounter

For several solar cycles after that, Tomato hadn't seen Blueberry. They talked on their com. links every so often, but she never told him what she was doing. It was most likely that she was busy with school, but (unfortunately) she could be planning for the wedding against her will.

Tomato was determined to rescue Blueberry from Carjack's evil servos, but how? Of course, he wasn't allowed to approach the Elite Guard ship because it would be "curtains" if he got caught, but he had to do _something_!

Since he feared his sword might not be big enough for this battle, Tomato decided to seek help from Megatron. By now, Tomato was a good swordsman, but he still wanted to ask something.

"Lord Megatron?" asked Tomato, approaching his leader.

"Yes?" asked Megatron.

"Well…it turns out I have a rival for Blueberry," Tomato explained. "I'm going to battle him soon, and I don't think my sword is big enough for a strong one-on-one battle, so I wanted to know if I could borrow one of yours. I'll return it right after I defeat Carjack."

"Are you going to kill him?" asked Megatron.

"If I need to, then yes," Tomato replied solemnly.

"Then you can borrow one," Megatron told Tomato. "Just don't lose it or damage it in any way, because there will be dire consequences if you do."

"Thank you, my liege," Tomato said excitedly as he took the sword and walked away with it. It was still a little heavy, but he could lift it now. For a little bit, he practiced defeating Autobots with it, and he found that it wasn't much harder than his own sword, and besides, it was definitely much more deadly.

Tomato decided that he would persuade Blueberry to lead him to her ship, where Carjack lived. Perhaps he could think of another excuse to get there. When she finally told him she was coming over, he tried to think of a way he could get her to go to the Elite Guard ship and defeat Carjack, his rival.

And he got the perfect idea.

As soon as Blueberry showed up at the _Nemesis _to spend the solar cycle together, she seemed shocked. Tomato was dressed up like an Autobot, similar to the way Blueberry had dressed up as a Decepticon for the club—he had on optic lenses on to make his eyes blue, and although he was still armed (obviously), he had put an Autobot sticker over the Decepticon insignia on his chestplate.

"Why did you dress up as an Autobot?" Blueberry asked, looking baffled.

"I wanted to meet your parents," Tomato replied. Of course, what he really wanted to do was defeat Carjack, which was why he had kept himself armed, but he actually did want to meet Blueberry's parents. After all, she had met Megatron, right?

"They want me to marry Carjack, remember?" Blueberry reminded Tomato sadly. "They wouldn't care to meet any other boyfriends I might have."

"If I acted even more respectful and responsible than Carjack does, maybe they'll forget about him," Tomato protested. "What kind of mech do your parents like the most?"

"My father would like a mech who is brave in battle and would take good care of me," Blueberry replied, "and my mother would like a mech who is responsible and would be a good father to sparklings. In fact, she is a nurse, so she loves taking care of everyone, too."

"I could be all of those things," Tomato told Blueberry honestly. "I just need to prove that to your parents."

"What if they figure out you're actually a Decepticon, though?" Blueberry asked.

"Don't worry," Tomato insisted. "They won't."

So the two of them headed off to the Elite Guard base, walking hand in hand. Tomato found himself feeling nervous, because he was meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time, which everybody knows is a big step in a relationship.

After quite a bit of walking, they arrived at the Elite Guard ship. Tomato was biting his lip and gripping Blueberry's servo, but she smiled sweetly and led him inside.

"Mother? Father?" she called. "I'm home!"

"How's my girl?" shouted Blueberry's father, coming into the room, and her mother pulled her into a hug. Blueberry's mother was the same dark-blue shade, only a little bigger, and Blueberry's father was a combination of bright red and gold.

"I had fun on my mission," Blueberry replied. "And I brought my new boyfriend."

"Who?" asked her parents.

"I met this mech several days ago," Blueberry told them, pointing to Tomato. "Believe it or not, he's an Autobot who I met on a mission a few solar cycles ago. We thought he should be introduced."

"Put 'er there, young mech!" Blueberry's father boomed, and Tomato slowly shook his servo.

"So, what's your name?" asked Blueberry's mother politely.

Tomato panicked. If he gave his name away, the Elite Guard would reveal his Decepticon status and probably try to take him back again. So his CPU scrambled for a fake name, any fake name that the Autobots would believe!

"M-My name's Hotwire," Tomato lied nervously. "I-I'm an Autobot trooper."

At least _that _was sort of true. Tomato figured that an Autobot trooper was kind of the equivalent to being a Decepticon warrior. Blueberry gave Tomato a strange look at "Hotwire", but he quickly shook his head and put one finger over his lips. He would explain it later.

"Autobot trooper, huh?" Blueberry's father said approvingly. "Well, young mech, I just happen to be an Autobot trooper too! Let's see those moves!"

"Um…okay," Tomato replied. Of course, he knew not to shoot his gun inside, but he whipped out Megatron's sword and pretended he was fighting an invisible enemy, showing off his swordsmanship skills; then he put the sword back and showed off his martial arts skills, fighting with his fists and showing off his various kicks and punches. By now Tomato was pretty skilled, so everyone looked pretty impressed, including Blueberry.

"My, you _are _talented!" Blueberry's mother cried. "Who taught you?"

"Um, I, um…" Tomato drew a blank.

"Hotwire trained at Autobot Academy," Blueberry piped up, coming to Tomato's rescue. "And he graduated at the top of his class, too. All the sergeants thought he was one of the best cadets because he always knew how to take orders and he was very brave too. I know he could always save me if a Decepticon attacked me."

"Oh, is that so?" asked Blueberry's father.

"Yes, sir," Tomato replied, bowing. Since he used the word "sir" and bowed, that was his way of showing respect; then turned to Blueberry's mother. "I'm sure you know your daughter is safe in my servos, correct, ma'am?"

"Of course!" Blueberry's mother smiled. "You are a very charming young Autobot, Hotwire."

"However, I'm afraid you and Blueberry are going to have to remain friends," Blueberry's father suddenly said.

"But—but why?" Blueberry cried. "I love Hotwire so much!"

"You know who I arranged to marry you," Blueberry's father told her strictly. "I've been Carjack's trainer for a long time now. I know I can trust him. Hotwire seems fine, but for Spark's sake, I can't let you stay with someone I've hardly met. And you haven't been with him very long, have you?"

"No." Blueberry hung her head.

"We just want you to be safe and happy, dearest," Blueberry's mother told her daughter, drawing her into a slow hug. "You know that."

"I-I'd be happy with Hotwire," Blueberry said back. "Much happier than I'd ever be with Carjack."

"Carjack will be a fine husband, my daughter," Blueberry's father insisted. "All your life, he will love you and protect you from danger. When he comes home from training or from a battle, you'll be there to serve him dinner and help him unwind, and if you ever get into danger, he will protect you from harm."

"I can take care of myself!" Blueberry protested. "And Carjack can get his own energon! I don't like him, Father!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me," Blueberry's father warned.

Blueberry made her voice softer and explained, "I want to finish my degree at University of Crystal City and get a job first."

"Watch yourself, young lady," Blueberry's father told her. "Being a mother is job enough for you, and that's final."

Blueberry put her servos over her faceplates, and Tomato could tell she was going to cry soon; he didn't know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to help Blueberry, but on the other hand, if he blatantly went against her parents' wishes, they would hate him.

"Blueberry would really make a good scientist," he told them quietly, fake-smiling.

"No, young mech, she would not." Blueberry's father shook his head. "That's not a femme's job, and Carjack strongly agrees with me on that."

"Yeah, he would," Blueberry muttered under her breath, so that only Tomato could hear her.

"Perhaps you should meet Carjack, Hotwire," Blueberry's father suggested. Over his com. link, he contacted Carjack, who came as soon as he was called. Upon arriving, he saluted and yelled, "Carjack reporting for duty, sir!"

Carjack was a little bigger than Tomato. He was almost all-black, with some rather obnoxious red-and-orange flames painted on his upper arms and lower legs. Curious, he looked down at Tomato and asked in a gruff voice, "Who's the red 'bot?"

"I-I'm Hotwire," Tomato said. "Um, you're Carjack, correct?"

"That's right, little guy," Carjack said importantly, crossing his arms and grinning snidely. "Does that _bother _you?"

"No!" Tomato cried. "I-I think it's a cool name."

"Whatever." Carjack rolled his optics and turned to Blueberry's parents. "Good afternoon, yes?"

"Oh, absolutely," Blueberry's mother replied cheerily.

"I must say, sir, I am most pleased that you are allowing me to marry your beautiful, delicate young daughter," Carjack told Blueberry's father. "It is such an honor."

"It is an honor which you deserve," Blueberry's father responded, setting one servo on Carjack's shoulder (they were almost the same height, with Blueberry's father being a little bigger). Blueberry looked over at Tomato and rolled her optics. Tomato nodded, then turned his attention back to Blueberry's parents and Carjack.

"Well, I've got to get the next training session set up for tomorrow's training drills," Blueberry's father told everyone.

"Yes, and there are patients I should be attending to," Blueberry's mother added. "I'm a nurse, you see."

"I know." Tomato nodded and smiled. "Blueberry told me already."

"Now, isn't that nice?" Blueberry's mother said sweetly as she followed her husband out the door. "Why don't you three just stay here and chat?"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	22. Fight to the Death

"Yes, ma'am," Carjack said as Blueberry's mother left the room, but as soon as Blueberry's parents were out of earshot, he turned to Tomato—his personality changed drastically, just as Blueberry had described. "So, you think you can get it on with my girl, do you, little guy?"

"I'm only a little smaller than you, Carjack," Tomato reminded him.

"And I'm _not _your girl!" Blueberry yelled.

Carjack pulled Blueberry into a hug and even though she tried to resist, he just said, "Oh, come on…of course you are! You're marrying me!"

"Only because my parents _want _me to," she insisted. "Do you honestly think I would want to marry you?"

"Yes, you would," Carjack told her. "Nobody would make a better husband than I would."

"What about Hotwire?" Blueberry cried. "I know he'd make a much better husband! I bet even _Megatron _would be a better husband than you!"

"How dare you!" Carjack shouted, shoving Blueberry hard into the wall of the ship.

Blueberry kicked him in the shin, but he was so much bigger than she was (he was bigger than Tomato, too).

"Leave me alone!" Blueberry said, kicking him again.

"Cut it out!" Carjack tossed her aside, letting her land on the ground. Carjack was even worse than Blueberry had described; Tomato was getting angrier every second. And everyone knows that it's NEVER a good idea to get a Decepticon angry.

_Carjack might be bigger than I am_, Tomato thought to himself, reaching for Megatron's sword. _But he_'_s not stronger_.

Before anyone else had noticed, Tomato had unleashed Megatron's sword and ran up to Carjack, slashing him hard in the chest. Immediately raw energon began to spew from the wound. Carjack tackled Tomato and punched him right in the face.

"Be careful!" Blueberry called anxiously from the sidelines.

"I'll be all right," Tomato reassured her, getting up and punching Carjack's face right back and karate-kicking him in the chest so that he skidded across the floor and hit the side of the ship.

"That's the way!" Blueberry shouted happily. "Carjack, he's going to _kick_ _your aft_."

"Oh no he's not!" Carjack got up from the floor, steaming with red-hot anger. As he walked towards Tomato, he pulled out a sword of his own, a medium-length blunt dagger with which he was pointing right at Tomato's spark chamber.

"Why don't you try it?" Tomato taunted, holding up Megatron's sword. "I could use a laugh!"

"PREPARE TO DIE, HOTWIRE!" hollered Carjack, tackling Tomato again and forcing the dagger right at his opponent's spark chamber. Tomato grabbed onto Carjack's servos and pushed the dagger back with all his strength as the two of them grunted with effort. Finally, Tomato kicked Carjack off of him and onto the ground, quickly standing up to give himself the advantage of height.

Carjack got up too, by now downright livid, and withdrew his dagger once more. Unfortunately for Tomato, he jabbed the dagger right at Tomato's spark chamber, but Tomato dodged before it was too late. Carjack was undaunted; he ruthlessly stabbed Tomato four times, twice in the leg, once in the stomach, and once in the arm.

Tomato ignored the pain and instead focused on his anger and determination. Of course he wasn't going to let Carjack win. Tomato could do better than that. As quick as a flash, he punched Carjack once in the chest then again in the face. Carjack cried out and swung his dagger blindly. Again, Tomato nimbly dodged.

Using Megatron's sword, Tomato swiped hard at his enemy, not particularly caring where the sword landed. When Tomato looked, he realized the sword had caused a huge gash from Carjack's right shoulder all the way to his upper left leg; Carjack clutched his stomach and dropped to the ground.

Carjack was by now bleeding profusely and covered with bruises. Tomato held him down with one foot and pointed his gun directly at his opponent's face.

"Don't move a diode, or I'll shoot," he threatened.

"How does it feel to be the one on the receiving end?" Blueberry called from the sidelines, a rather snarky note in her voice.

"Promise you'll leave Blueberry alone," Tomato demanded. "I mean it."

Carjack could barely get the words out, but finally he squeaked, "I-I promise."

"Okay then." Tomato put Megatron's sword away and removed his foot from Carjack. Part of him expected Carjack to get up and start fighting again, but his expectations were apparently too high—Carjack covered his face with his servos and moaned, turning over on his side.

Blueberry ran over to Tomato and gave him a huge hug, tears glimmering in her optics. In a voice so quietly Tomato could hardly hear it, she whispered, "Thank you."

"No problem," he whispered back, kissing her on the cheek.

Just then, Tomato felt the pain from his own injuries intensify. His adrenaline was gone, and although he most certainly could take a punch and several stabbings, the wounds were pretty bad. Sure, Tomato had physically harmed Carjack more than Carjack had harmed him, but Tomato still found himself gasping in pain and grasping Blueberry's servo tightly.

"Oh, no, we need to get you to my mother," Blueberry said worriedly. "She's a nurse. She'll know what to do. Come on."

Quickly, Blueberry dragged Tomato down the hall to the repair room, where Blueberry's mother was changing the sheets on one of the beds. Upon hearing their arrival, Blueberry's mother turned around and cried, "Oh dear, what happened?"

"Hotwire is hurt!" Blueberry cried anxiously. "No time to explain now. Please fix him up!"

The two of them led Tomato to the medical bed, where they gently lay him down. Blueberry's mother inspected the stabbings and shook her head. "We're going to have to have an actual doctor for this one. Hotwire has a lot of puncture wounds that need serious medical treatment."

"Will he be all right?" Blueberry asked worriedly.

"As long as he gets treated soon enough, he will be," Blueberry's mother replied. "Don't worry, my daughter."

"I'll get Red Alert," Blueberry said hurriedly, and rushed out of the room.

Tomato lay on the medical bed for several cycles while Blueberry's mother cleaned up his wounds. She was humming softly, which gave him some small comfort.

Soon, Blueberry and Red Alert ran back into the room.

"Is that Hotwire?" asked Red Alert, approaching the medical bed.

"Yes," Blueberry replied worriedly. "He's gotten into a battle. He won, but his opponent still stabbed him four times."

"Indeed," said Red Alert, walking up to Tomato. It appeared that the wounds, coupled with Tomato's Autobot disguise, prevented Red Alert from recognizing Tomato's identity. Quickly, he reached over for his supplies and got his medical supplies and clean bandages.

Red Alert numbed Tomato with his EMP generator then began fixing the wound. As he did, he and Blueberry's mother interviewed Blueberry about how Tomato got so damaged.

"Carjack attacked me," Blueberry explained, coming to Tomato's defense. "He shoved me into the wall and onto the ground. I was so scared; I thought he was going to hurt me. Hotwire tried to stop him, but Carjack just turned on him instead. They kept on battling, and Hotwire won, so now I'm safe."

"Did Carjack really try to hurt Blueberry?" Blueberry's mother asked Tomato, looking beyond worried. "Did he hurt my little girl?"

Tomato looked up from the medical bed and weakly added, "Yes, and he tried to hurt me too. I knew I had to protect Blueberry, so I had no choice to fight back. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but Blueberry told me Carjack hurts her all the time, squashing her dreams and 'punishing' her when she doesn't do what he says. I thought it needed to be stopped."

"Where _is_ Carjack?" asked Red Alert.

"Well…for all I know, he's still in the other room, bleeding and bruised," Tomato told him.

"Oh, no, I'll go check on him," Blueberry's mother said, then hurried out of the room. When she came back, she was dragging a half-offline Carjack into the repair room. Carjack was hanging limply on her arm, muttering incomprehensively.

"Carjack's even worse," Red Alert said. "Nurse, please clean the wounds and get him to stop bleeding while I finish working on Hotwire, all right?"

"All right," Blueberry's mother said, and proceeded to do as the doctor said. As she did so, she commented, "I can't believe Carjack actually acted like that. Why did you never tell us?"

"I-I didn't want to tell anyone," Blueberry admitted sadly. "Besides, I was sure you wouldn't believe me."

"Your father and I would always trust you to tell the truth, daughter," Blueberry's mother said. "We love you and only want the best for you. You should know that by now."

"Believe me, I know." Blueberry ran up to her mother and gave her a hug. "I love you too, and Father."

Blueberry's mother continued to clean Carjack up. "After I'm done here, we can all discuss this in the main monitor room, all right?"

"Father will kill Hotwire," Blueberry told her mother worriedly. "Remember, he really likes Carjack, and he hardly knows Hotwire. I know who he'd side with."

"I know he'll understand," Blueberry's mother told them.

…

As soon as Tomato was all patched up, and Red Alert was fixing Carjack, Blueberry and Tomato entered the main monitor room to talk to Blueberry's parents.

"Your mother told me what happened with Carjack," Blueberry's father said seriously, putting one servo on his daughter's shoulder. "I decided that as soon as he's better, I'm going to kick him off my team."

"Thanks, Father," Blueberry told him. "That means a lot to me."

"We could never let anything happen to our precious little angel," Blueberry's mother cooed, hugging her daughter.

"Can I stay with Hotwire?" Blueberry asked hopefully.

Blueberry's father pointed at Tomato's puncture wounds, now covered in medical tape and on their way to healing. "If Hotwire was willing to sustain these injuries for you, Blueberry, then he is worth your time. I approve your relationship."

"I do too." Blueberry's mother smiled.

"And I approve it most of all," Tomato said, attempting to hug Blueberry, but wincing in pain as he reached for her.

"Now, now, don't hurt yourself, my love," she giggled, and kissed him on the head.


	23. Promotion

After about half a megacycle, Tomato and Blueberry found themselves back at the _Nemesis_. It was around dinnertime, so all the Decepticons were at the table, eating. They looked surprised at how injured Tomato was when he first walked in.

"Tomato?" said Megatron. "Dear Primus, what happened?"

"I got into a fight with an Autobot," Tomato explained proudly.

"Did you win?" Megatron asked him.

"Oh, he more than won!" Blueberry answered for Tomato enthusiastically. "That stupid Autobot didn't even know what hit him! Even though he was bigger than Tomato, and stabbed him and punched him, Tomato kept on fighting, and almost killed him."

"_Almost _killed him?" Megatron repeated.

"Well…I thought my parents might not be so happy if he died, because he used to be one of my father's trainees," Blueberry replied. "That's why the medic bot had to fix him…but if he hadn't, that Autobot would've gone offline for sure."

"So, you said Tomato got stabbed and punched?" Megatron asked.

"Yes, he punched me in my face then stabbed me four times with his dagger," Tomato told him. "Then he tried to stab me in my spark chamber…but I used your sword to defeat him. Here it is, by the way."

Tomato took out Megatron's sword and handed it to him. The sword was dripping with Carjack's raw energon, almost like a battle trophy.

"That's not all, Megatron," Blueberry added enthusiastically. "Do you see his Autobot disguise? He used that to fool my parents. So not only did he defeat an Autobot, he did it while _disguising _himself. Nobody figured it out!"

"I had to," Tomato said. "Carjack—my opponent—was trying to hurt Blueberry. So I couldn't just stand by and let her get hurt by him. I could _never _do that."

"So…you defeated an Autobot, kept fighting when you had injuries, rescued one of your comrades, and sneaked onto the Elite Guard ship?" Megatron looked impressed.

"Yes, yes, he did!" Blueberry cried ecstatically.

"Well, then, son, I couldn't be more proud." Megatron gave Tomato a one-armed hug and patted him on the back. "In fact…I think a promotion might be in order."

"Really?" Tomato cried happily.

"Yes," Megatron told him. "You can be my third-in-command. That means that if anything happens to Shockwave, you become second-in-command."

"That's great!" Tomato threw his arms around Blueberry happily, and she said that she thought it would be great, too.

"Tomato also came up with a fake name, Hotwire, so they wouldn't recognize him and make him come back to the Elite Guard," Blueberry added. "I couldn't believe it."

"It's true," said Tomato, taking off the blue optic lenses and his pretend Autobot sticker. "If I got caught, the Elite Guard would take me back…which I definitely do _not_ want."

"We don't want it either," Megatron told him. "Now, come sit down with the rest of us and get some fizzy energon, your favorite."

"You know," said Blackarachnia as Tomato and Blueberry sat down, "I think Hotwire is a pretty good name, isn't it?"

"Umm…I guess so," Tomato replied. "Why?"

"Ve vere trying to look for a name for zat sparkling," Blitzwing explained. "Hotwire eez perfect, no?"

"As perfect as it'll get, considering I didn't want a sparkling in the _first _place," Blackarachnia snapped back.

"Why wouldn't you want a sparkling?" asked Blueberry, looking confounded. "I think little sparklings are always so cute."

"Do _you _want a sparkling?" Blackarachnia said back.

"Well…not right now," Blueberry admitted. "Like I said, I want to finish my education first…and besides, I'm only young."

"We aren't ready to be parents!" added Tomato.

"There are only about seven or eight lunar cycles yet to go," Shockwave told them. "Until then, we're just going to have to wait."

"And we all know how good Megatron is at waiting." Starscream smirked.

"I've got a war to run, and that takes priority over the little sparklings that infest my ship," Megatron replied.

"An infestation?" asked Blueberry. "Like space barnacles?"

"Something like that," said Megatron.

"Space barnacles are fascinating to study," Blueberry told him. "You know, like in Science class at school."

"Well, at least they don't make loud crying noises and keep you up at night," Blackarachnia said.

"Ve must love zee sparkling no matter vhat," Blitzwing protested.

"Never mind it," said Tomato.

"Besides, I think _Wind Beneath My Wings _is on," Starscream added. "To the TV!"

"This might be interesting to see…" Blueberry looked curious. "After all, I don't get the Decepticon channels, remember?"

"Oh, boy, are you missing out!" Starscream told her enthusiastically. "_Wind Beneath My Wings _is the best TV show ever, isn't it, Tomato?"

"Starscream got me hooked," Tomato admitted.

"On his stupid soap opera," Shockwave said scornfully.

All of them went to the TV, where Starscream turned on the Seeker channel. _Wind Beneath My Wings _was just starting.

"Oh, you're amazing!" they heard the main character squeal. The scene was getting pretty steamy, and Blueberry was staring at the screen.

"This is pretty…um…interesting," she said, looking a little shocked.

"It's a soap opera," Starscream told her.

They watched the whole episode, in which the main character and her lover decided to get married, although they were both high on energon and it was a split-second decision.

"Now let's watch the show _I _wanted to watch," said Shockwave. "It's called _The Travel Show_."

"Oh, yeah, I've seen that show," Blueberry told him happily. "It's on one of the Autobot channels, the Navigation Channel. It tells all about fun exciting places to travel to all over the universe."

"Yes, it's always talking about interesting and special planets, moons and stars in the Candied Cyberberry," Shockwave added.

"Why is our galaxy called the Candied Cyberberry, anyway?" asked Tomato. "I've always wondered that."

"Oh, it's easy, we studied it in school a long time ago," Blueberry explained. "You see, every galaxy in the universe is named after some kind of candy. For example, Earth's galaxy is named after the Milky Way, a human candy, and ours is named the Candied Cyberberry because that's a candy we can eat."

"_Very _interesting," Tomato said, nodding his head.

After the commercials were over, the episode started. The announcer 'bot was saying, "Welcome to…_the Travel Show_!"

Everyone in the TV room cheered.

"On today's episode, we will be doing a special on the planet Nebulos, lead planet of the Nebulon Republic," the announcer was saying. "Nebulos is a wonderful vacation spot for any 'bot looking to just get away from it all. The beaches are relaxing and beautiful, and the energon goes down easy like Sunday morning."

"Wow, we lucked out!" said Tomato. "I've always wanted to watch a special on Nebulos."

"Imagine the pretty beaches," Blueberry said dreamily. "Just think of it, Tomato…just the two of us, holding hands, listening to the sounds of the waves as we watch the beautiful sunset…wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Yes, just the two of us," Tomato agreed, snuggling up next to her. They held hands, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Jeez, guys, get a room, will you?" said Blackarachnia irritably.

"Whatever," Tomato replied, shrugging nonchalantly, and Blueberry giggled. Now everyone knew they were deeply in love.

The special on Nebulos made it sound very appealing. At the end of the program, the announcer said, "And, for a limited time only, you have the opportunity to take an all-expense paid trip to this paradise…including a five-star luxury hotel where the loyal employees never deny a guest even the most ridiculous request! Not only that, but the restaurant has an all-you-can eat buffet, including fizzy energon, dark energon, high-grade oil…we've got everything! No discrimination against either Autobots or Decepticons—everyone is welcome! Come one, come all! Call now!"

"Wow, an all-expense paid trip to Nebulos?" asked Shockwave. "That's very interesting."

"Hmm, I could go for a nice relaxing beach trip," Blackarachnia said approvingly. "Then maybe I wouldn't be stuck on this Primus-forsaken ship every solar cycle."

"And think of zee dance parties at night!" Blitzwing shrieked, getting up and starting his dancing.

"Yeah, I bet the femmes there are really cute!" Starscream added excitedly.

"Think of all the scientific experiments I can conduct!" Blueberry told them happily. "Remember, it said in the show that there are lots of different species on Nebulos that aren't on Cybertron."

"Can we go, Lord Megatron?" Tomato pleaded. "_Please_?"

"I don't know…" Megatron tapped his chin decisively.

"Think of how you and I could drink dark energon on the beach, my liege!" Lugnut said.

"Absolutely _not_," Megatron snapped.

"Everyone else wants to go!" Tomato insisted. "Just send Lugnut on some phony mission or something and then he won't bug you, will he?"

"Well, all right, then." Megatron squeezed Tomato's shoulder. "But only because you're my third-in-command."

"Woot!" Starscream cheered excitedly. "Vacay!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	24. Hyper Speed

**DEAR READERS: I apologize greatly for the long wait between Chapters 23 and 24. My computer was experiencing serious technical difficulties, which made posting anything virtually impossible. (Annoying, huh?) Fortunately, my computer is fixed now, so I shall certainly be updating more often. Enjoy Chapter 24! **

"I need my parents' permission before I can visit Nebulos with you all," Blueberry was saying as she helped Tomato pack for the trip. They were in his bedroom with all his stuff laid out on his bed, trying to decide what to bring.

"Do you think your parents will let you come along?" Tomato asked.

"Maybe," Blueberry replied. "I can tell them I'm going there to study the wildlife—you know, like a science project."

"I can go with you," Tomato offered.

"Would you?" said Blueberry, and Tomato agreed.

…

Later on that solar cycle, the two of them went to visit the Elite Guard ship. Blueberry's parents were both there, and they were pleased to see "Hotwire", who they now thought of as a great boyfriend for their daughter, Blueberry.

"Why, Hotwire!" Blueberry's mother cried when she saw Tomato, drawing him into a warm hug. "What a wonderful surprise!"

"What brings you here?" her father asked.

"Well, my family is going to visit Nebulos soon, for a vacation," Tomato began.

"Yes, and I thought maybe I could come along," Blueberry added. "I mean, I know I've never been to another planet before, but…there are so many things there that we don't have here on Cybertron. I thought it would make a great science experiment."

"I don't know," said Blueberry's mother worriedly. "What if something happens to you there?"

"Oh, it's only Nebulos," Tomato insisted. "And she'll be with me. What harm could come to her there?"

"Yes, Hotwire is right, Mother," Blueberry said. "I'm not going to be young forever! I don't learn everything I need to learn in school, you know. I need to explore the galaxy before I can be a good resource for the Elite Guard."

"How long is your family going to be gone, Hotwire?" Blueberry's father asked pensively.

"Oh, maybe about a week or so," Tomato replied airily. "Not that long."

"Do you promise you'll be careful?" Blueberry's mother asked her daughter, bending down and giving her a kiss.

Blueberry smiled. "Don't worry."

"And Hotwire," Blueberry's father added sternly. "Do you promise to take good care of our daughter?"

"You have my word, sir," Tomato replied, giving Blueberry's father a classic four-fingered salute. Blueberry giggled.

"Then, permission granted," Blueberry's father said, smiling slightly.

"Have a wonderful time on the trip, you two," Blueberry's mother added.

…

As soon as the two of them had reached the _Nemesis_, they ran all the way to Tomato's room to finish his packing. Blueberry was going to pack later on, when she got back home.

"Well, I'm very excited." Blueberry plopped herself down on Tomato's bed during a little break in packing. "I've never left Cybertron before. Have you?"

"No," Tomato answered, and reached for Blueberry's servo. "I've lived on this ship almost all my life cycle…but I've never actually flown in it anywhere."

"What do you think it will be like?"

"I don't know," Tomato replied thoughtfully. "I bet it'll be fun, though."

"They say Nebulos has nice beaches," Blueberry whispered to her boyfriend. "The perfect place for some cuddling."

Tomato felt his spark beating rapidly again as he thought of himself and Blueberry lying down on the beach, holding hands as they watched the night descend on the planet. "Yes…that _would _be very romantic."

"That's just one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to this trip," Blueberry told Tomato sweetly.

"Yeah, me too," Tomato replied, but his voice was now shaky with nerves—time for an abrupt subject change! "Do you want to go get something to drink?"

"Okay, come on!" Blueberry got up from the bed and followed Tomato into the kitchen.

_What was I thinking back there_? Tomato wondered as he walked into the kitchen, following Blueberry. _We were all alone in my bedroom_, _holding hands_! _Why didn_'_t I kiss her while I had the chance_?!

As this internal dialogue continued to bother Tomato, Blueberry took her place at the kitchen table. "What are you drinking?"

"Fizzy energon, as usual," Tomato told her. "What do you want?"

"Just some medium-grade oil, please," Blueberry replied, smiling. Just then, Tomato realized how much he loved her smile. Now he knew he was head-over-heels in love with her, and that there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

Tomato got Blueberry a barrel of medium-grade oil, and he himself opened his fizzy energon cube. As he proceeded to drink from it, he and Blueberry discussed the vacation.

"I'm so excited," Blueberry said. "I can't wait!"

"Well, Blueberry," Tomato reassured her, "we only have to wait a week."

**ONE WEEK LATER...**

Tomato, the other Decepticons, and Blueberry were getting ready to depart in just a few megacycles. They were all packing last-minute things and running around crazily.

"How come you femmes always have to pack so much more than mechs do?" Megatron asked Blackarachnia and Blueberry, sounding irritated. The two femmes were the only ones who had brought more than one suitcase, and Blueberry had brought three.

"I don't know, Megatron," Blueberry replied, walking up to Tomato and kissing him on the cheek. "I guess we just want to make sure we didn't forget anything."

"Who's bringing the beach stuff?" said Shockwave, rooting through a pile of trip essentials.

"I am!" cried Crazy Blitzwing, pouncing out of nowhere. "Umbrellas, beach towels, inflatable beach balls, cute hats…"

"Why do we need hats?" Tomato asked him.

"To keep our nice finish protected from the sun," Icy Blitzwing explained. Placing a straw hat on his head, he turned back to Crazy and screeched with laughter. "They are also the epitome of beach fashion!"

"Um…right," said Starscream, rolling his optics at Blitzwing.

Megatron pointed to something in Blitzwing's servo. "And what is _that_, dare I ask?"

"Why, this is a _lei_, my friend," Icy Blitzwing said, holding up a blue-and-red flower necklace and draping it around his neck. "I have one for everybody!"

"No _thank _you," Megatron told him angrily, but Blitzwing went to everybody else on the ship and gave them each a _lei _necklace for the trip.

"Why do we need these?" asked Tomato.

"For the tourist spirit, my friend!" Blitzwing cackled as he turned back into Crazy mode. (It seemed that Blitzwing was _so _excited about the trip that he couldn't stop switching back to the Crazy side of his personality.)

"I brought my Decepticon costume and fake ID," Blueberry told everyone. "You know, so I can get into Decepticon clubs too, like you all can."

"Good idea!" Tomato told her. "I almost forgot!"

"Well, if you all are done packing," Megatron said, "now might be a good time to get going."

"Fine with me!" Blueberry replied, gripping onto Tomato's servo.

Megatron gunned the motor, and the ship soared into the air and, soon after, space. With their GPS, they could easily navigate from Cybertron all the way to Nebulos, especially since the two planets were in the same galaxy.

"This is great!" cried Blueberry, looking out the windows as the ship cruised across the solar system.

"Hey, Megatron!" Starscream called, taking a big swig of dark energon. "How 'bout a little hyper speed?"

"I don't _think _so, Starscream," Megatron replied, still glaring at him.

"Oh, please?" Tomato begged. "I've never flown at hyper speed before!"

"Yeah, and it's terribly against the law in our culture!" Blueberry piped up.

"Wow, the Autobot culture sure has a lot of rules, doesn't it?" asked Tomato.

Blueberry shrugged. "I guess so."

"Oh, all right, we can go into hyper speed for a little." Megatron sighed and set the ship into hyper speed mode.

It was so incredibly fast! The sights from the windows were speeding by so fast that the tourists couldn't even see them. Tomato and Blueberry screamed happily, holding hands as they soared upwards. Blueberry cried, "I've never felt so online!"

At hyper speed, the thrill of traveling was even more exciting, and of course a lot less slow. Before they knew it, they were there—Nebulos.


	25. Luxury off the Shores of Nebulos

When Blueberry and the Decepticons finally arrived on Nebulos, they found themselves in a beautiful beachfront community. Residents and tourists alike lounged on the pretty beaches; sparklings played in the water as it gently lapped onto the sand.

By the shore were houses, hotels, and other buildings characteristic of such populated sectors. There was a bustling downtown, filled with mostly Autobots, but several stray Decepticons, mostly hanging in small packs. There were clubs for both Autobots and Decepticons, stores, hospitals, hotels, public parks, and other many interesting places.

The _Nemesis _had landed on the shore right off the beach—the Decepticons had tried not to look too conspicuous. After all, the ship was huge, pointy, purple, and, well…intimidating in general. It was a ship anybody would think Decepticons would reside in.

With each of them lugging a suitcase or two behind them, the tourists stepped off the ship and onto the boardwalk. Blueberry was struggling to tow her three heavy suitcases along, and although she was not complaining, Tomato felt sorry for her. It was going to be a long way to the hotel, and she couldn't fly, which would make it harder to carry everything.

"Transform and rise up!" called Megatron, as soon as they had gotten to the main part of the beach.

"Do you want me to carry your suitcases for you?" Tomato asked Blueberry. "I'm only carrying a small one so far."

"No, don't worry, I'll be—yikes!" Blueberry's suitcases, combined, probably weighed more than she did, so before Tomato knew it she had tripped and fallen on her face. "Ouch!"

"Here, I'll help." Tomato pulled Blueberry up, then grunted with effort as he tried to carry her many suitcases. That was when Megatron flew up to them in helicopter mode.

"Remember, Tomato, you can't fly in alt. mode," Megatron reminded Tomato. "And Blueberry can't fly either way. So hurry up and come with me."

Tomato and Blueberry lifted up two suitcases each, and (still in robot mode) carried them onto the helicopter. Smiling gratefully, Blueberry sat down inside, and Tomato sat next to her. With that taken care of, all the Decepticons (except Blackarachnia, who had to crawl in spider mode) took to the skies and tried to find a good place to stay for their vacation.

They had the money, of course, because this was an all-expense paid vacation, but there were so many to choose from. Lots of the hotels were five-star, but finally, Blueberry singled one out.

"Hey, I see a good one!" she cried, pointing out one of the helicopter's windows.

So, the Decepticons flew in closer to the hotel. It was called "Shady Acres Hotel and Suites", and the motto printed underneath was "Luxury off the Shores of Nebulos."

"What do you think?" Blueberry asked Megatron. (It was kind of strange to be talking to the vehicle they were riding in, but what else could they do?)

"We might as well check it out," Megatron replied. "What harm could it do?"

…

Blueberry and the Decepticons walked into the hotel, all in robot mode now and carrying their suitcases. Blueberry was holding one of hers, Tomato was carrying his and another one of Blueberry's, and Megatron had forced Lugnut to carry Blueberry's third suitcase, since it wasn't very heavy for him. All the others were just carrying their own and not sharing.

The hotel Blueberry had selected couldn't have been more beautiful. There were breathtaking paintings on the walls, and the walls themselves were made of pure white marble. The floor was shiny and clean as they walked over it, and out one of the windows they could see the sun sparkling on the water of the outdoor pool. There was a nice little sitting room off the main lobby, where new guests could relax from their long travel trip. To Blueberry's delight, there was a lending library only a few blocks away.

Behind the front desk, there was a receptionist 'bot waiting to check them in, and someone with a cart to carry their luggage. There was a plaque behind the desk, saying: "Welcome! Come One, Come All!"

"Welcome, valued guests." The receptionist greeted them with a smile and wave. "There certainly are a lot of you. Give your luggage to the luggage carrier, and we'll check you in."

"We ordered the all-expense paid Trip to Nebulos," Megatron told her. "The charges were paid off in advance on my credit download."

"Well, we'll have to check," the receptionist told him, and went on the computer where she made the reservations. "Your name, please?"

"Lord Megatron," Megatron replied. Tomato hoped this wouldn't get them kicked out of the hotel on their tailpipes—but luckily, his fears were unfounded. The receptionist didn't even turn her head; she just entered his name into the computer as usual.

"Why didn't she recognize his name?" Tomato whispered to Shockwave.

"She was probably just programmed to be a receptionist," Shockwave whispered back. "Most likely, she doesn't know the difference between Autobots and Decepticons."

"Oh," said Tomato. "That explains it."

"Well, Mr. Megatron," the receptionist was saying, "I see here that you did indeed sign up for the all-expense paid Tour of Nebulos, so welcome to our lovely planet. The program runs for exactly one week, so how many guests will we have for this next week?"

"Including me?" asked Megatron.

"Including you," the receptionist replied cheerily.

"Hmm…me, Shockwave, Tomato, Starscream, Lugnut, Blitzwing, Blackarachnia, Blueberry…" Megatron counted all of his guests with his finger. "We will have eight guests."

"How many rooms?" asked the receptionist.

"Well, it goes without saying that I get my own room," Megatron began. "But the rest of you will just have to share. Lugnut, Blitzwing, Blackarachnia, you three are roommates."

Blitzwing and Blackarachnia both groaned, and Lugnut protested, "But I want to room with you, my liege! I promise I will pleasure you!"

"I said I want my _own _room," Megatron insisted. "And I don't want to be 'pleasured' by you, Lugnut. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"So we still have to share?" said Blackarachnia, sounding particularly annoyed.

"I'm afraid so," Megatron replied. "Shockwave, Starscream, I suppose you two can be roommates…and, um, same for Blueberry and Tomato?"

"What?!" the two young 'bots cried at the same time, embarrassed, refusing to look at each other.

Shockwave walked up to Megatron and crossed his arms. "Are you _sure _that's such a good idea, my liege?"

"Two young 'bots, all alone in their own room?" Starscream added. "_Really_, Megatron?"

"And in heat, besides," Icy Blitzwing added.

"I don't care what they do," Megatron told him. "Why does it have to be any of _my _business?"

"Well, he's your own son, for starters," Starscream said sarcastically.

"And young 'bots simply can't be left alone for a whole week," Blackarachnia agreed, joining the conversation. "They multiply like space barnacles."

"HEL-_LO_!" Tomato suddenly yelled, causing Megatron, Shockwave, Starscream and Blackarachnia to stop talking and look over to him and Blueberry. "Did you all forget I'm _STANDING RIGHT HERE_?!"

"Oh, um…yeah," said Starscream, scratching his head. "Sorry."

Megatron cleared his throat. "Yes, um, in that case, Blackarachnia can room with Blueberry, Tomato can room with Starscream and Shockwave, and Lugnut and Blitzwing can be roommates. Is _that _okay with everyone?"

Blackarachnia looked relieved that she didn't have to stay with Blitzwing and Lugnut, even though Lugnut was still looking wistfully in Megatron's direction. Starscream shrugged, and Shockwave nodded in approval. Tomato muttered something incomprehensible, and Blueberry turned away; it was obvious she was a little embarrassed, too.

"How many rooms again, sir?" the receptionist asked again patiently.

"Four," Megatron said bluntly. "Make reservations for exactly one week, please."

"No problem," the receptionist replied, then entered the name "Lord Megatron" into her computer. "Our luggage carrier will escort you to your rooms promptly."

They decided to tour the rooms after that. All four of the rooms were very big, with two soft, fluffy beds. In Megatron's room, there was an elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a lovely painting hanging on the wall behind the bed. Each bed had its own nightstand and lamp.

There was a big balcony with drapes parted so that you could see the beautiful view of the beach through the window; they could see that night was slowly approaching. An adorable couch stood nearby the window, with beautiful pots of flowers by the window. Two chairs and a desk flanked the doorway. And, of course, there was a little cabinet with a TV inside. Off the main room was a self-maintenance room, too.

"This is…this is amazing!" said Blueberry.

"Are all the rooms like this, my liege?" Tomato asked.

"Yes," Megatron told him. "As you can see, it's near night…so get to your rooms."

"Our _rooms_?" Starscream cried. "But—but we just _got _here!"

"We've got all of next week to explore this place," Megatron told him strictly. "It's been a long day, and we're all tired. Get some sleep."

"YOU HEARD LORD MEGATRON!" hollered Lugnut. "DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"

"Please, Lugnut, _don_'_t _do my job for me," Megatron told his loyal servant, looking harried. "I can handle these imbeciles myself, thank you very much."

"All right," Starscream grumbled. "Shockwave, Tomato, let's go."

So, the three of them entered the room. Starscream flicked the lights on, and they found themselves with the same sleeping arrangements—two beds and one couch.

"Good thing nobody has to share a bed, I suppose," Shockwave said. "Who's going to sleep where?"

"I guess I can sleep on the couch," Tomato volunteered. "I'm the smallest, so I could fit the easiest. Plus, the couch looks comfy enough, right?"

"Yes, and thank you for volunteering," Shockwave replied.

"Do you guys want to watch some TV before bed, then?" asked Starscream, climbing into bed.

Tomato shook his head. "I seriously doubt that there's a TV show we could all agree on."

"Hey, what about _Nebulos Has Idiots_?" Starscream suggested. "This must be some comedy show that's native to Nebulos."

"I guess we could watch that," Tomato agreed, settling onto the couch and grabbing a pillow and blanket. "It sounds pretty funny."

Shockwave, already in bed, picked up the remote and turned on the TV show. It was a program similar to the popular Cybertronian game show _Cybertron_'_s Dumbest Citizens_, but it was a game show about 'bots who were native to Nebulos instead. It turned out to be hilarious, and all three of them were laughing. It was too bad they didn't have that show back home.

The show ran late, and when it was finally over, Shockwave told them, "Well, I guess we should turn our lights out, now."

"Yes, goodnight, everyone," Starscream said.

"I'm totally excited for tomorrow!" Tomato added.

Shockwave clapped his hands twice, and the lights went out.


	26. Tourist Trap

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

Tomato came out of stasis to the brightness of the sun shining into his hotel room. He sat up and rubbed his optics, still only half awake. Starscream was still sleeping, and Shockwave was sitting up in bed and reading a magazine.

"Good…good morning, Shockwave," Tomato yawned.

"Have a nice sleep?" asked Shockwave pleasantly.

"Yes," Tomato replied. "How long have you been awake?"

"Quite a while, actually," Shockwave told him. "I always get up early."

Tomato nodded and lay back down in bed, debating whether or not to try and go back into stasis. Suddenly, they heard Starscream mumble, "Yes, my dear…I like it when you do that…"

"Starscream talks in his sleep," Shockwave explained, rolling his optics. "Usually about being in bed with someone."

Tomato suppressed a snort of laughter and whispered, "Really?"

Starscream proceeded to make out with his pillow, muttering things like, "I love you baby…just a little bit harder…oh, yesyesyesyesyes!"

To his amusement, Tomato saw Shockwave take out a video camera and tape Starscream overloading himself in his sleep. Then, finally, he jumped straight up in bed and yelled, "Take me now, my lover!"

"Forward it to Megatron," Tomato whispered to Shockwave, who was still taping.

Shockwave nodded and stopped recording, then, as Starscream awoke, he sent the video to Megatron's data pad—and to everyone else's, too. While he was doing this, Starscream looked around the room, seeming a little disoriented.

"Is it—where am I?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Nebulos," Shockwave replied, managing to keep a straight face. "It's morning now."

"Well, we'd better get downstairs," Starscream said quickly. "I was waiting all night to explore this place!"

…

Blueberry and the Decepticons met up with each other in the main lobby. Upon the arrival of Shockwave, Starscream, and Tomato, everybody started laughing.

"What?" asked Starscream. "What are you all laughing at?"

"See for yourself," Megatron said, brandishing his data pad at Starscream. Even he was laughing at Shockwave's video.

"Hey!" yelled Starscream. "Who taped that?"

Tomato shrugged, while Shockwave 'fessed up.

"Okay, that's it!" Starscream said. "Shockwave, our friendship is totally _over_!"

"Like I care," Shockwave told him sarcastically. "Starscream, you are _such _a drama queen."

"Sometimes you have entire _conversations _in your sleep," Megatron told him. "It's quite annoying."

"That's very strange," said Blueberry. "You know, some say that dreams and sleep-talking reveal your subconscious—that is, all the data hidden in your CPU that's too deep down for you to know about. I did a project on it at school."

"Well, can we please just explore the hotel and the area?" Starscream asked, trying to change the subject. "The hotel has a pool, and we can go to the beach. Plus, we can hit some clubs tonight, when we go downtown."

"I brought zee beach supplies!" Crazy Blitzwing laughed, holding up a beach ball.

So they went to the pool first. The pool was huge, filled with cold blue water flanked by little statues of sparklings, water spewing out of their mouths and into the pool. There were lawn chairs around the sides of the pool, and native Nebulos trees (similar to palm trees). There was even a little area for sunbathing, with a snack bar nearby. Included with the pool was a relaxing-looking hot tub. Everybody knew they wouldn't have to be worried about rusting, because their armor was designed to be water-resistant.

"I'm going in the hot tub," Megatron told everyone.

"Could I come in with you, my Lord?" Lugnut asked excitedly.

"Umm…how about you go get some energon for me at the snack bar?" Megatron said quickly.

Lugnut bolted off to the snack bar. "As you wish, my liege!"

"Yeah, I think I'll get some energon too." Shockwave followed Lugnut to the snack bar.

"Well, I'm going to go and sunbathe." Blackarachnia walked towards the sunbathing area.

"Do you need me to rub zee suntan lotion on you?" asked Blitzwing's Icy face.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?" Blackarachnia hissed.

After a little bit of just standing there awkwardly, Tomato finally asked Blueberry if she wanted to go swimming.

"Of course!" Blueberry grabbed the beach ball, and she and Tomato plunged into the water.

Tomato playfully splashed Blueberry, and she splashed him back, then tossed the beach ball into the air. Tomato caught it and hit it back to her, then she splashed him again.

"Want to play Water Tag?" asked Tomato.

"Yes!" they heard someone say. It was Blitzwing, jumping into the water to go swimming with the two of them. "Cannonball!"

Tomato, Blueberry, and Blitzwing laughed as the water from the cannonball splashed on them, then they started to play Water Tag. They played a lot of other water games too, like having splash fights and swimming races.

Megatron had a femme in the hot tub with him by now, but Tomato couldn't tell if it was because she wanted to join him or if she just wanted to go in the hot tub. Lugnut was sitting next to the hot tub, probably because he had tried to get in but couldn't. Megatron's optics were closed and he was sipping a glass of dark energon, his arms folded behind his head.

Blackarachnia had left long ago to check out the spa, and Shockwave was chatting with the 'bot running the snack bar. Starscream had taken Blackarachnia's place at the tanning salon, and he had gotten a Decepticon femme to give him a massage.

Eventually, about halfway through the day, they heard Shockwave's voice behind them.

"The Dark Lord says we shouldn't stay in one place all solar cycle long," he was saying. "Do you guys want to go and tour the area now?"

"Okay, but get us some towels, will you?" asked Tomato, climbing out of the pool. Blueberry and Blitzwing followed. Shockwave returned with the towels; Tomato wrapped one around himself and one around Blueberry.

With that, all seven Decepticons and Blueberry left the pool area. They debated for a little over where they wanted to go, they decided to go to the beach, but they didn't stay very long, since it was pretty much the same thing as the pool and they had already done a lot of swimming that day.

After playing in the waves and getting knocked over a couple of times, they finally decided to go check out the library. The library was big, with clear glass windows and shelves upon shelves on books. There were even two floors.

"I want to check out a science book, okay?" asked Blueberry, but she didn't wait for an answer; she just ran to the place where they were kept.

"Blueberry really is going to make a great scientist," said Tomato approvingly.

"Guys, come check this out!" they heard Blueberry call. "This is really interesting."

"What is it?" asked Tomato, as they joined her at one of the bookshelves. She was holding up a big book. They looked closer at the cover, which said _On the Origin of Species_.

"This is a detailed book about life from the organic planet Earth," Blueberry explained. "It tells how the humans came into being, and many other life forms, too."

"Wasn't our race created by the AllSpark?" asked Tomato.

"Yes, but organics are different," Blueberry replied, perusing the book. "This is fascinating. Can I check it out, Megatron?"

"All right," Megatron told her. "Earth appears to be very primitive, though."

The eight tourists went to the counter and checked out the book. Blueberry held it happily in her arms as they left the library, planning to visit other sights of the little community.

…

There was a lot to do in this part of Nebulos—probably why it was such a tourist trap, Tomato thought. They spent the whole afternoon exploring the town, and finally, as the sun set, they decided to hit one of the clubs.

"Ve have been dying to see zee nightlife on this planet," Icy Blitzwing told everyone.

"We have to go back to the hotel first, so I can get my Decepticon costume, remember?" Blueberry said.

"Okay," Starscream replied. "Then, let's hit the clubs!"


	27. Clubbing the Nebulos Way

**BACK AT THE HOTEL…**

Everyone was waiting in the lobby for Blueberry, who had swung by to grab her costume. They all were excited to go clubbing, so it seemed like forever while Autobot Blueberry dressed up as Decepticon Blueberry.

Finally, though, she came into the lobby wearing her disguise. She walked up to Tomato and put her arm around him, whispering, "You ready to party, lover boy?"

"_Yes_," Tomato choked.

…

As soon as the Decepticons got downtown, they began scouting for clubs. Finally they found one that looked "promising" (as Starscream put it). They entered and ran into the bouncer immediately.

"Well, the Dark Lord himself," the bouncer said approvingly. "Can I get an autograph?"

"I guess," Megatron told him, as the bouncer held out his data pad. Megatron scanned his signature onto a blank document and went on in.

Megatron was infamous amongst everyone, which was why the bouncer had recognized him even on Nebulos. The rest of them, though, weren't that well-known on a foreign planet, especially Tomato and Blueberry, since they weren't the same generation as the rest. They did all have their ID's, though (Blueberry hadn't forgotten her fake one), so they all got in.

The music was so loud they couldn't even hear what the other was saying without shouting. The disco ball flashed multicolored lights throughout the whole room, and there was a section near the back where several Decepticons were showing off their weapons. There were barrels of energon and oil, nothing less than an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Of course, they weren't familiar with the pop culture of Nebulos, but apparently Blitzwing liked the fast song that was playing, because he rushed out into the crowd and started moshing. As he did so, he beckoned Tomato and Blueberry to join him.

"I challenge you to a dance contest, you two against me," Icy said. "Do you accept?"

"We accept!" Blueberry told him, surprising Tomato with her enthusiasm. So, as soon as the next song started, the three of them started to dance harder and harder, laughing all the way. It was hard to beat Blitzwing's dance moves.

"_BLITZWING_! _BLITZWING_!" The crowd was roaring. Tomato and Blueberry danced harder, and they did well, but they still couldn't beat the best dancer on Cybertron. Finally, as the song ended, the two young 'bots put their servos down, panting, and proclaimed the Blitzwing the winner.

"I knew you could not beat me!" laughed Crazy Blitzwing. Blueberry shrugged, smiling, and Tomato followed her over to the table with the drinks. Tomato picked up a cube of fizzy energon, and began to drink out of it.

"Dear Primus!" Tomato gasped, swallowing the energon. "Swindle was right! This energon _is _as smooth as a protoform's bottom!"

"Oh really?" Blueberry smirked. "Let me see that for a second."

"Go on," Tomato whispered, handing a fresh cube of fizzy energon to his girlfriend. "Try it."

"Don't drink too much," Shockwave reminded them sternly. "In large doses, fizzy energon can mess with your CPU…as you have undoubtedly seen with the others."

"It's okay, Shockwave," Blueberry reassured him. "I won't drink too much."

**TWO MEGACYCLES LATER…**

"Did I ever tell you—how much—how much I love you?" Blueberry hiccupped, her arm around Tomato's shoulders.

"You give me that—that—" Tomato fell backwards onto the ground with a clunk and clatter as yet another shot of fizzy energon fell out of his servo and splashed on the ground. "That _feeling_, baby."

"Oh _yeah_!" she cried, and pounced on him. "Come, take advantage of me!"

"Gladly," Tomato whispered, and the two young 'bots sat up, still clinging to each other as if they had been glued together.

"Can you _please _get up off the floor?" they suddenly heard someone say, and it was Shockwave. The other club patrons, dancing and drinking all around them, hadn't really been paying attention, but apparently Shockwave didn't think it was a good idea to initiate an intimate moment right in the middle of a dance club—and high on energon, nonetheless.

"I-I, um—" Tomato attempted to stand up, then fell over again.

"Oh, for Spark's sake," said Shockwave, lifting Tomato and Blueberry off the floor. "Come with me. You two are done drinking for the night."

"D-Don't be a party pooper, Shockwave!" Tomato told his superior, sounding more intoxicated than ever, but Shockwave just shook his head and pulled the two young 'bots over to Megatron. It was their first time being high on energon, and they didn't seem to be handling it very well.

Unfortunately, the Dark Lord himself was even worse than Tomato and Blueberry combined. Right now he was at the back of the room, shooting his cannon at the wall as the other club patrons cheered him on.

"L-Lord Megatron!" Tomato called, waving unsteadily.

"Is th-that my Tomato?" Megatron called back.

"Yes, my liege!" Tomato grabbed Blueberry's hand and ran over to join his leader. Shockwave followed them, grumbling exasperatedly.

"Oh, Shockwave, I was just looking for you!" Megatron waved at Shockwave. "I was gonna ask, do you know where Starscream is?"

"Probably in the back room," Shockwave told him, sounding irritated. "I saw him chatting up a couple of good-looking femmes earlier tonight."

"That fool Starscream," Megatron said, then shot off his cannon again, narrowly missing Shockwave's head.

"That—that sure is a big cannon!" Blueberry observed, pointing a shaking finger at Megatron's fusion cannon.

"Do you wanna try this big boy out?" Tomato asked her, taking his own gun off his arm.

Normally, Blueberry probably would have declined this offer, but tonight, she snatched the gun from her boyfriend's servos and screeched, "Yes!"

Tomato pointed to a random place in the club. "Fire!"

Blueberry shot several rounds across the room and into the wall, and when some Decepticons cheered, she pumped her fist in the air energetically and cried, "I think I love this place!"

"DECEPTICONS FOR THE WIN!" Megatron hollered, firing his fusion cannon at the ceiling. Tomato took his sword out and waved it all around in the air, while Blueberry kept on shooting his gun.

"You're a _natural_, Blueberry!" Tomato grabbed Blueberry around the waist and she giggled like a nitwit, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Tomato, you—you are _too _sweet!" she cried, tickling him, and then they both laughed like fools.

"You know, Blueberry," Tomato slurred, lifting up Blueberry's chin, "I think you look really hot in that Decepticon outfit."

"Why, thank you!" Blueberry giggled again and put her servo in Tomato's.

"Come, my love," he whispered suggestively in her ear. "Come, and I will eat you alive."

And that was the last thing Tomato remembered of that night.


	28. Casual Morning on Nebulos

**THE NEXT MORNING…**

Tomato woke up to a ray of sunshine glaring into his optics. When he looked around, he saw that he was lying down on the couch, the pillow placed behind his head. Shockwave was gone, early bird that he was, but Starscream was still sleeping in his bed, muttering to himself, one servo dangling off the bed and onto the floor.

Even though he had a huge processor ache, Tomato tried to get up and out of bed. It didn't work—he was beyond exhausted, and didn't know why.

"Starscream?" Tomato asked wearily.

"You two are absolutely _splendid_," Starscream was saying, while clutching his pillow. "Why, I haven't had a three-way this good in—"

"STARSCREAM!" Tomato yelled. "THERE ARE NO FEMMES HERE!"

"Huh? What?" Starscream sat up in bed and rubbed his head confusedly.

"You were talking in your sleep _again_," Tomato told him, feeling frustrated. "Sometimes I wish you hadn't roomed with us!"

"Is that really necessary, Tomato?" Starscream asked, lying back down again.

Tomato usually wouldn't have been so grumpy, but his processor ache was killing him, and he found himself taking it out on Starscream. "Yes, it is!"

Starscream yawned. "You know, I'm hung over too."

"Why don't we just go downstairs and see if the hotel has any painkillers?" Tomato begged. "I feel horrible."

"Oh, yeah, for your _first_ hangover," Starscream said, rolling his optics. "I guess so. Everyone else is probably downstairs anyway by now. I'm sure Shockwave is, at least."

The two of them got out of bed and down to the lobby. Megatron was next to Shockwave, legs crossed, chewing on what appeared to be a painkiller and reading an out-of-date issue of _Decepticon Weekly_, absentmindedly turning the pages but still appearing bored. Shockwave was reading a book he'd checked out from the library, _Spies Have More Fun_. Blueberry was there too, holding one servo over her optics as if to shield herself from the bright light of the morning, although she appeared to be in stasis. In her lap was _On the Origin of Species_, one finger still holding her page.

"Dear Primus, I thought you two weren't going to come out of stasis for the whole solar cycle," Megatron said upon their arrival.

"Do you guys have any painkillers?" Tomato mumbled. "I have a torturous processor ache."

"Here, I brought some." Shockwave smiled and handed the painkillers to Tomato, who popped a couple of them right in his mouth.

"Where are the others?" asked Starscream.

"Lugnut is still sleeping," Shockwave told them, "and Blackarachnia was apparently having trouble with her sparkling, so Blitzwing said he wanted to stay with her for the morning."

"What, did she drink dark energon last night or something?" asked Starscream.

Shockwave shook his head. "No, that's the way sparklings are supposed to feel in the mornings."

"I wish I hadn'thad so much fizzy energon at the club," Tomato told him miserably as he sat down next to Megatron. "What…what _happened _last night, anyway? I don't remember a thing."

"Well, you were talking to Blueberry," Shockwave told him, sounding irritated, "and then you both just passed out right on the floor. Blackarachnia and I, being the only sober ones by that point, had to take you back to your rooms and put you to bed."

"So he _didn_'_t_ lose his virginity." Starscream smirked.

"Of course not," Shockwave told him rather scornfully.

"Well, you still had a good time, didn't you?" Megatron asked, glancing at Tomato, then back at his magazine.

"I had an _awesome _time!" Starscream told everyone, pumping his fist in the air.

"Yes, Starscream, we all know you had an awesome time," said Megatron, sounding irritated.

Not long after, Blueberry blinked and sat up. "Where…where am I? What's going on?"

"It's me," Tomato told her. "Tomato, your boyfriend."

"Oh…good morning." Blueberry smiled and sat upright, still holding her place in her book.

"What did you think of the club last night?" Tomato asked.

"I got high on energon when I said I wouldn't!" Blueberry laughed. "What would my parents say?"

"Nothing, if you don't tell them," Tomato replied, "and that's the way I want to keep it."

**BACK ON THE ELITE GUARD SHIP…**

Red Alert was currently on Monitor Duty, patrolling Cybertron. It was quite boring, as usual, and nothing was happening, when Blueberry's mother rushed in.

"Doctor, I have a feeling something's wrong with Blueberry," she said hurriedly. "Why don't you look for her energy signal on Nebulos, just in case?"

"Well, I don't see why not," Red Alert replied, switching the monitor equipment to Nebulos. What he found shocked him.

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Blueberry's mother upon seeing Red Alert's facial expression. Her voice was already full of worry.

"I can find Blueberry's energy signal, but it seems as though Decepticon energy signals are all around her," Red Alert said nervously. "Not only that, but I can't pick up any other Autobot energy signals…so it's only reasonable to assume that Hotwire must have been killed."

"For all we know, Blueberry could be next!" Blueberry's mother cried. "Why, there must be an all-out battle going on over there!"

"And one of the energy signals is unmistakably Megatron's," Red Alert added.

"We've got to get to Ultra Magnus!" Blueberry's mother rushed out of the room, looking beyond panicked. Several cycles later, Ultra Magnus walked into the Main Monitor Room, accompanied by Blueberry's parents.

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "I've been informed that Decepticons have arrived on Nebulos."

"Oh, I _knew _I shouldn't have let her go on that trip, I just _knew _it!" Blueberry's mother wailed, bursting into tears and burying her face in her husband's shoulder. "What kind of mother _am _I?"

"Don't worry, my dear," Blueberry's father told her strongly. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt our daughter."

"We've got to _do_ something." Red Alert nodded his head firmly.

"And so we shall!" Ultra Magnus announced seriously, slamming his Magnus Hammer onto the ground importantly. "Tomorrow morning, we invade…and attack!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**...


	29. Final Battle

**BACK ON NEBULOS, THE NEXT SOLAR CYCLE…**

"What do you all say to exploring the city, everyone?" asked Megatron. All eight of them were seated in the hotel's lobby, discussing what they should spend this new solar cycle.

"Okay with me." Tomato shrugged and put his arm around Blueberry, who nodded enthusiastically.

"There's an interesting shopping mall down there," Blackarachnia told them. "We can buy all sorts of necessary pampering upgrades. After all, this vacation _is_ pre-paid."

"Shopping is boring and stupid!" yelled Lugnut angrily.

"What are you going to _do _about it, Lugnut?" Blackarachnia asked him smoothly.

"I still think we should go downtown today," Megatron repeated fiercely. "This vacation is only one week long, so we have to make the most of it."

**DOWNTOWN…**

Most of them split up when they got downtown. Megatron and Lugnut went into the weapons store; Starscream and Blackarachnia went to the shopping mall; Blitzwing went to the music store; and Shockwave, Tomato, and Blueberry decided to hang out in the library.

Blueberry returned _On the Origin of Species_. Even though she didn't check out a new book, she picked a whole stack of books from the shelves and read through them for a few megacycles, while Shockwave and Tomato explored the library too, looking at the DVDs, CDs, and many, many books.

After exploring a little while, everyone met in the street. Megatron had bought lasers, but Lugnut hadn't bought anything (he had just come along to keep Megatron company, apparently). Starscream had enhanced his paint job—he now had gold highlights and his chest was less pink and more red. Also, he looked more like his Cybertronian mode. Blackarachnia had her nails done and her finish buffed to an impressive shine. Blitzwing was holding some CD's and had some new dancing shoes in hand.

They were about to take their new things back to the hotel when an all-too-familiar ninja star whipped past their heads. Almost instinctively, the Decepticons and Blueberry turned around, and there was the Elite Guard, fully armed, with Team Prime proudly standing next to them. They all looked angry, and they all looked ready for a fight.

"Is that the Cybertron Elite Guard?" cried Tomato, remembering what had happened last time he had encountered them.

"Yes," said Megatron calmly, fueling up his cannon, glad he'd thought to buy a new weapon.

"If I were a filthy Decepticon like you, I wouldn't pick downtown Nebulos to perform your dastardly deeds, Megatron," Ratchet said firmly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Starscream, looking angered and a little confused. "We were just here on vacation."

"Oh, give us a break, Starscream!" called Ironhide, putting on his silver armor. "Do you honestly think we're dumb enough to believe that?"

"You _are_ all complete imbeciles," Megatron told them flatly. "It just so happens, though, that we really are only here on vacation."

"Call us imbeciles, will you?" asked Optimus Prime.

"Well, let's see who the _real _imbeciles are," Ultra Magnus added. "Attack!"

"No, wait!" Tomato suddenly saw Blueberry rush out from behind all seven Decepticons, a panicked note in her voice. "He's telling the truth!"

"Blueberry!" Blueberry's mother rushed to her daughter, embracing her and kissing her head. "You're all right, thank Primus you're all right."

"Of course I am, Mother." Blueberry smiled weakly.

"How dare you capture my daughter, Megatron!" Blueberry's father hollered, walking up to Megatron, servos balled into fists.

"You don't scare me, Autobot," Megatron said disgustedly.

"Surrender my daughter or prepare to go offline!" Blueberry's father demanded, shooting his revolver at Megatron.

"You leave me no choice!" Megatron yelled back, as he tried out one of his new lasers on the Elite Guard trooper, who winced with pain but tried to ignore it.

Tomato didn't want to have anything to do with the Elite Guard, now or any time, so he went after the members of Team Prime, who had no idea who he was. By now, he was pretty much full-size, so he could attack anyone he wanted. Since Decepticons are naturally bigger in size, he was almost the height of Bulkhead.

Even though Tomato wasn't firing at the Elite Guard, most of the other Decepticons were. Before he knew it, shots were flying everywhere. Blueberry, looking scared, ran for cover, her arms over her head. Her mother met up with her and held her close, both of them looking terrified.

By now shots from all kinds of weapons were firing; Megatron had fired his fusion cannon at Ultra Magnus, who looked damaged but still functional as he summoned thunder and lightning with his Magnus Hammer.

Tomato decided to just go for Optimus Prime, the leader of Team Prime. Why not? He _was _bigger, after all. And he wasn't a dropout from the weak Autobot Academy; he was a warrior, trained by Megatron himself.

Running as fast as he could, Tomato punched Optimus square in the face, knocking him down onto the ground. Once Optimus was down, Tomato slashed at him with his sword. Bumblebee, coming to his leader's defense, stung Tomato in the back. Tomato didn't really feel any pain, so he ignored it. Ratchet came running over to patch up Optimus.

Once Optimus was standing on his feet again, Team Prime ran past Tomato to help the Elite Guard. Once Tomato watched his other Decepticons fighting the Elite Guard, he knew he had to take the chance of getting captured and fight right by Megatron's side…where he belonged.

Tomato pushed through the crowd and stood by Megatron, who was shooting his fusion cannon at every Autobot in sight. Tomato shot round after round from his gun as well, backing his team up. Before he knew it, the red 'bot felt a sharp sting in his chest. He looked down, and discovered that Prowl had slung a ninja star right near his spark chamber.

Raw energon was leaking out, but Tomato was undaunted. Shaking only from anger, he pulled the ninja star out and dropped it on the ground, slashing at Prowl with his sword. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a hologram, so Tomato gave up and decided to try and attack someone else.

Things were exploding everywhere. Horrified citizens of this peaceful little beachfront community were huddling in terror, clutching their sparklings close and crying out in confusion and anguish. Tomato was shooting his gun at everything, just like Megatron was, engaging Autobot after Autobot in battle, but his attention turned elsewhere when he heard Megatron cry out.

Megatron had been shot again, three times in a row, by Blueberry's father's revolver; the electricity from the Magnus Hammer shoved him hard into the concrete wall of a souvenier shop.

"Optimus Prime! Now!" Tomato heard Ultra Magnus order, and, just as Megatron was getting up to plunge himself back into the fight, Optimus ran to him and pulled out his axe. As swiftly as he could, he sliced the cannon off of Megatron's arm.

Megatron was cracked and sparking, and, not counting his new lasers and the swords, he was disarmed, but he managed to pull himself to his feet anyway, clutching his side. Anger darkening his features, he pulled out his swords.

"Shoot!" hollered Ultra Magnus, and Optimus shot.

Before anyone knew what was happening, including Tomato, a gigantic blast from the cannon hit Megatron right in the spark chamber and slammed him right back into the wall with amazing force. Optimus stumbled backwards, but stood up and shot again. This time, Megatron didn't try to get back into the battle.

"Lord Megatron!" cried Tomato, rushing over to his Master's side. Anxiously, Tomato checked for Megatron's energy signal; luckily, he was still online, but the energy signal was faint. Tomato felt his own spark pounding as he saw Megatron's open spark chamber, barely able to keep its owner online.

"Is…is that you, Tomato?" asked Megatron, looking up at Tomato weakly.

"Yes, it's me, Lord Megatron," Tomato reassured him, a lump in his throat. "Come on, we can't let the Autobots win!"

"Think kindly of me, my son," Megatron told him softly. Tomato could see his spark shorting in and out. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he knew his leader didn't have much time left.

"P-Please don't go offline, please," Tomato begged, fighting back tears. "I n-need you. We all need you."

"Be strong, Tomato," Megatron insisted, reaching out one servo; Tomato took it and squeezed it tight. "Go on and fight like the worthy warrior you have become."

"All right, then." Tomato wiped at the hot tears that were now streaming down his faceplates, no matter how hard he tried to stop them. "But first I must say one thing."

"Y-Yes, my son?" Megatron looked up at Tomato, fighting to stay online just long enough to hear his son's farewell message.

"If I were to go offline in this battle today too, I'd use my last breath to say…" Tomato squeezed Megatron's servo even tighter and whispered in a constricted voice, "I'm glad you're my father."

Megatron, unable to say anything back, slowly lifted his other servo. With a serene smile, he gently brushed Tomato's tear-stained cheek; and then he was gone.

Not listening to the sounds of the battle, not thinking of anything of anything else, Tomato flung himself over his leader's sparkless shell, letting himself cry great sobs that shook his whole body. Soon, he felt someone tapping his shoulder; he looked up, and it was Blueberry. Tears were in her optics, too; she had both hands up to her spark chamber and she was looking upset for her boyfriend.

"I tried to save him," Tomato told her, anguished, as he dropped to his knees and placed both servos over his optics. "I tried to save him, but I couldn't."

"I know." Blueberry knelt next to Tomato and placed one servo on his shoulder.

"And now he's gone forever, out of all our lives." Tomato started crying again, too devastated to feel like a sparkling.

"Maybe he isn't," Blueberry whispered, and stood up.

"What are you talking about?" Tomato stood up too, and wiped his optics some more. "His spark has been extinguished."

"Here, take this." Blueberry slowly took a small, blue crystal out of her spark chamber and handed it to Tomato.

"Is this a piece of the AllSpark?" Tomato asked in amazement as the AllSpark fragment landed in his servo.

"Yes, I always keep one around for good luck," Blueberry explained quickly. "Place it in his spark chamber, and he'll be able to stay online until he can receive proper medical attention."

"I-I don't understand," said Tomato. "Why would an Autobot want to bring Megatron back online?"

"Because we're all in this together," Blueberry replied. "You know that, and I know that, and we're going to make sure Megatron knows it, too."

"Thank you, Blueberry," Tomato told her. "Thank you so much."

"Besides, Tomato," Blueberry said teasingly, "you're a nasty little thief."

"W-What do you mean?" asked Tomato confused.

"I mean you've stolen my spark," Blueberry whispered gently, "and I'm never going to get it back."

Tomato knew what was going to happen. The AllSpark fragment dropped from his servo and landed on the ground; he stared into those beautiful blue optics and grasped Blueberry's servos in his; and their lips met, the kiss resonating throughout their bodies in a way they had never experienced before. They couldn't hear the sounds of the battle blasting its way throughout Nebulos's downtown; they couldn't feel their battle wounds; all that existed for them was their spark-bonding, helpless to the power and glory of love.

Finally, the two of them gently pulled apart, but Tomato still held Blueberry's servos in his. Now he knew that their sparks had become one, something that could only happen if two Cybertronians had truly fallen in love with each other.

"Now, I hate to interrupt this moment of spark-bonding," Blueberry told Tomato, smiling slightly and nodding towards Megatron's body, "but I believe your leader needs resurrecting over there."

"Let's give it a try." Tomato's voice was shaking, but he knelt down on his knees and grabbed the AllSpark fragment. Slowly, determinedly, he placed it where Megatron's spark had been, holding it down, the radiant blue light shining on his and Blueberry's faces.

"Push harder," Blueberry whispered.

Tomato and Blueberry found themselves caught in a blast of bright blue light as the AllSpark fragment engulfed them in its power. The fragment slipped out of Tomato's servo and remained stuck fast in Megatron's spark chamber; once the light had vanished, Tomato and Blueberry sat up, wondering what they would find.

Megatron's systems were clearly rebooting. His optics turned from gray to red; the lifeless expression on his faceplates turned to ferocity and anger; his body seemed to reanimate itself as he lay against the wall of the souvenier shop.

"W-What happened?" Megatron squinted and rubbed his head a little confusedly. "Where am I?"

Tomato and Blueberry ran over to Megatron anxiously. Tomato held Megatron's head up with one arm, the other squeezing his master's hand again. "You're on Nebulos, Lord Megatron. It's me, Tomato. My spark-mate, Blueberry, too. Do you remember us?"

"Do I remember—?" asked Megatron, sitting up and glancing around. As soon as he saw the battle, he shook his head and looked up at his son. "Tomato, look at this battle! You should be fighting, not sitting around with Blueberry! Why ever would you spark-bond in the middle of a battle? We can't let the Autobots win!"

"Welcome back, my liege," Tomato whispered, fighting back a fresh wave of tears as he helped Megatron sit up.

"It worked!" Blueberry sobbed over and over, tackling the both of them, to which Tomato let out a yelp. "It worked!"

"I love you, Blueberry!" Tomato cried, shamelessly bursting into tears again himself, as the two of them hugged each other and kissed again.

"Um…excuse me?" they heard Megatron say, so they stopped their kissing and looked over to him. He was sitting there, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, sorry!" Blueberry giggled, putting one servo over her mouth.

"I suppose we should go and finish the battle now," Tomato added, putting his arm around her. "Come on, Lord Megatron."

Tomato reached out for Megatron's servo and (not without difficulty), helped pull him up to stand. When Tomato let go, the Decepticon leader got his bearings quickly and prepared to charge out into battle again, but soon noticed something missing.

"What happened to my cannon?" Megatron asked, rubbing the part of his arm where his best weapon used to reside.

"Um, the Autobots took it," Tomato said awkwardly, but then smiled. "But you don't need it, my liege."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't forget about _me_, did you?" Tomato shifted into alt. mode. "I scanned your cannon for my alt. mode, remember?"

"Ah, so you did." Megatron picked up Tomato and attached him to his arm. "Now, let's go kick some Autobot aft."

-the end-

**P.S. STAY TUNED—THERE'S ONE CHAPTER LEFT! CHAPTER 30 ("EPILOGUE") WILL BE UP VERY SOON!**


	30. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Megatron never did completely heal from his wounds that solar cycle, but he was kept online by Blueberry's AllSpark fragment, stuck fast in his spark chamber. However, he did make a very good recovery, and won many battles thereafter. He never got his old cannon back, but he did receive a newer, bigger, and more powerful cannon (sold to him by a certain very pleased weapons dealer).

To no one's surprise, Blitzwing and Blackarachnia did _not _marry out of wedlock. Instead, once Hotwire (the baby) was born, he was raised by the whole crew. Blueberry loved him like a baby brother. Hotwire grew up to become the team's medic.

Soon after the final battle, Tomato gladly accepted an offer to be Megatron's second-in-command. The two of them were almost equal partners in battle, due to the unbreakable ties they had developed because of all they had been through together. Tomato had finally achieved his dream—to fight fiercely for the Decepticon cause.

Blueberry, meanwhile, graduated from University of Crystal City with a degree in science. Her old lab partner, squeamish as he was, did not graduate, but Blueberry rose through the ranks and ended up being Wheeljack's lab partner. Wheeljack felt like a brother to Blueberry. Wheeljack's love of gadgets, combined with Blueberry's scientific curiosity, led them to achieve many revolutionary innovations. They worked directly under Perceptor, the head scientist.

Carjack, upon learning that he was dismissed from Blueberry's father's training squad, became infuriated and attacked his former commander; Blueberry's father, not faced with a challenge, proceeded to wipe up the floor with Carjack. The rebellious 'bot was then thrown into the stockades for fifty stellar cycles on the charges of assaulting an Elite Guard officer—but not before getting zapped by Wheeljack's new Cosmotron.

After Blueberry joined the Elite Guard's head science crew, she and Tomato got married. They were soon blessed with Violet, who was the most adorable sparkling they had ever met and the sweetest, too. Violet lived on the Elite Guard ship with her mother and grandparents, but enjoyed frequent visits from her loving father.

Tomato, Blueberry, and Wheeljack's major scientific goal, however, was to restore Cybertron to the thriving planet it had once been. They knew this achievement was a long way away, but they never stopped working towards it. After all, as Blueberry put it, they were all in it together, and every Transformer knows that it's the journey that counts.

-the end-


End file.
